Pages of the Nura Gumi Diary
by pika318
Summary: A collection of short stories relating to anything and everything in Nurarihyon no Mago, depending on whichever random idea I think of first. Chapter 9: Closure ending and Chapter 10: Gift, how Youhime discovered young Rihan's healing gift
1. Origins

**Pika318**: So after my first NuraMago fic, this time I am going to write a collection of one shots or drabbles about any random idea that comes to me regarding the NuraMago fandom. I did the same thing for the -man fandom as well. I hope you enjoy the first story!

**Disclaimer: **Nurarihyon no Mago belongs to Shiibashi-sensei.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: <strong>Origins

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><p>Lessons have already ended at Ukiyoe Middle School. And as usual, the members of the Kiyo Cross Squad gathered in their club room, ready for another lesson or adventure about youkai.<p>

Or at least that was what it is meant to be.

Kiyotsugu, the leader of the Kiyo Cross Squad, struggled to control his temper as he saw the scene in front of him. Torii and Maki, using their mobile phones. Shima, playing around with his soccer ball. Kana and Rikuo, doing homework. Oikawa and Kurata, nowhere to be seen.

_Can't they be more enthusiastic?_

But he held his tongue. It was understandable, ever since the club was formed, the only major experience they had with youkai was during their trip to Kyoto, and yet, they only saw the aftermath and not the youkai themselves, it wasn't much of an achievement at all. Of course they'll lose their enthusiasm sooner or later with such dismal results. To make things worse, Yura, his most enthusiastic (?) member, had returned to Kyoto. He had to be patient, and build up their passion for youkai once more.

Firstly, he would need to perk their interest by expanding their knowledge.

"Everyone, listen up." Thankfully, all of them stopped what they were doing when they heard his voice. He still had some authority, it seems. "Lately, I've been thinking that I have been doing some things wrong."

"Yeah, like dragging us on useless trips." Maki interrupted.

"No, I don't mean that." Kiyotsugu said as he took the insult in his stride. As long as he worked patiently, such remarks like that would not be made in the future. "I was referring to how we kept hunting for youkai without working on our knowledge of them. After all, knowledge is power, and as long as we possess sufficient knowledge about different types of youkai, we would be able to know where to find them, and handle them when they appear, so…none of us will be in any danger." He had added the last part as an afterthought, because he knew the girls simply didn't like what they were doing right now because of the danger involved.

"So what are you getting at?" Maki asked, impatient.

"My point is, considering how little we know about youkai right now, I have a research assignment for all of you!" Kiyotsugu declared.

"Great…" "What…" "Troublesome…" were some of the replies Kiyotsugu heard, but he ignored them all to continue with his assignment announcement.

"So the thing is, all of you are to go back and research on…" Kiyotsugu paused intentionally for suspense. "…the origin of youkai!"

"Huh?" "Why must we do something like that?"

"Well…that's because…" Kiyotsugu started to explain, but it was not heard by a certain Third Heir of the Nura Gumi, because he was deep in thought.

_Interesting. Now that I think about it, even though I'm leading all of them, and even exchanged Sakazuki with a number of my family members, I don't really know much about them at all, much less their origins. This could be a good chance to ask…_

Amongst all the protests, Kiyotsugu suddenly heard the line he had been hoping to hear.

"I think it's interesting." It was Rikuo who said it.

"Oh! I knew I can count on you, Nura-kun!" Kiyotsugu said as imaginary tears streamed down his face. Then Kana, who was sitting next to Rikuo said,

"Well, if Rikuo-kun is okay with it, then me too…I guess I can give the assignment a try."

"Ienaga-kun…" Kiyotsugu turned to her as well, touched.

"If Kana says it's fine, then sure…" Eventually Maki and Torii agreed as well. Shiima agreed as well of course, since he didn't want to be left behind.

And therefore, finding out the origins of youkai had become the main task for the Kiyo Cross Squad.

"Young Master wants to know where we came from?" Nato Kozo asked.

Rikuo was currently surrounded by Nato Kozo as well as several small youkai in the back garden.

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><p>"Yes, it's for an assignment. And I want to know more about all of you as well."<p>

"Well, if Young Master put it that way, ehehe…" Nato Kozo said as it scratched it's head, flattered that their Young Master was interested in them, even though they are small and aren't very helpful.

"Well, for me, I used to be just normal Natto. Then I was simply left some place and forgotten, and after many many many years, I gained a soul and youki, which resulted in who I am today." Natto Kozo explained.

"That's…really sad." Rikuo commented. He couldn't imagine how food could just be left someplace and forgotten. Unless they were offerings to the spirits.

"I'm not sure if it's sad or not, since we don't really have a mind of our own until we become youkai, which means that we don't remember all those years clearly. Ah, Tofu Kozo is the same as me." Natto Kozo said, referring to the one eyed youkai with the bamboo hat.

"Okay." Rikuo said as he took down notes.

"Me me, I want to tell Young Master where I came from as well!" Kamaosa said as it jumped up and down. Kamaosa is one of the more common types of youkai found in the house.

"Sure." Rikuo said, smiling, even though he already knew what type of youkai Kamaosa was.

"I used to be a bottle, but my previous family treasured me very much and I was used for a hundred years. After that, I gained a soul and became a Tsukumogami. And well, the family threw me out soon after because I was playing quite some pranks on them, and that was how I came to the Nura Gumi. A lot of the others in the kitchen are Tsukumogami as well, like Nirigama and Chokuboron." Kamaosa told its story as well.

"So was it helpful?" Natto Kozo asked after Rikuo finished his writing.

"Yes, it was very informative, thank you."

"Ah, it was nothing…"

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><p>"An assignment?" Tsurara asked as Rikuo told her about what happened at the club meeting.<p>

"Yeah, Kiyotsugu wanted us to research on the origins of various types of youkai."

"Che, that human sure is troublesome."

"Um…Tsurara, calm down, please." Rikuo said nervously as he caught a glimpse of a darker side of Tsurara. "I'm fine with it, since it gives me a chance to know more about all of you."

_Know more about all of you…know more…you…Rikuo-sama wants to know more about me?_

"Ehehe…Rikuo-sama, we still have so many years to know each other better, why the rush…ehehe…"

"Erhm, Tsurara?" Rikuo got even more nervous now seeing her sudden change in behavior. "I just wanted to know where you came from…" he said, trying to clarify whatever Tsurara might be misunderstanding.

Tsurara instantly snapped out of her daydream hearing that. "Oh, is that it? Let me think…my mother, Setsura said something about this before." Tsurara said as she tried to recall what was said to her once. After a short while, she turned to Rikuo again.

"Oh yes, she said something about having to travel to a mountain with Thousand Year Snow at its peak. Then with the blessings of the mountain god there, the snow is infused with youki and after many days of constant attention, a Yuki-onna will be formed, which would be me."

"So, does that mean all Yuki-onna like Tsurara would be female?"

"Well, yes. I haven't seen a male snow youkai yet." Tsurara replied.

"That's really surprising."

"It is? Why?"

"Well, since you look so much like a human, I thought Yuki-onna would have children just like how humans do, with a normal pregnancy and everything." Rikuo said, explaining his thoughts.

"Eh? I don't think it works that way, Rikuo-sama."

"Then…hypothetically…if you have a child with a human, do you think you would have a normal human pregnancy and give birth normally? Since you resemble a human so much."

Unbeknownst to Rikuo, Tsurara had already lost him by then, because she was lost in her own thoughts.

_Have a child with a human…child with a human….a human…a child with Rikuo-sama?_

The instant she thought that, she turned very red and she could feel her temperature rise, which could be fatal for Yuki-onna.

"Rikuo-sama, you idiot!" Tsurara shouted as she ran off to find a way to lower her internal temperature, leaving a very confused Rikuo behind.

"Huh? I said 'hypothetically', right? Why did she take it so seriously?"

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><p>"How we originated?" Aotabou and Kurotabou asked as Rikuo stopped them just as they returned back from their regular patrolling.<p>

"Yeah, do you think you can tell me?" Rikuo asked.

"I guess I'm okay with it. It's not a good story though." Aotabou said, agreeing. He always found it hard to refuse Rikuo's requests, since he doted on their Third Heir so much. And so he started telling his story.

"I used to be human, a warrior monk, and because of that, I killed a lot of people. By committing that many sins, I was about to be executed when I met a holy man. He said that if I continued to kill people, I would become a monster. And in order to prevent that from happening, I would have to save one person for every sin I committed."

"You used to be human?" Rikuo asked in surprise. He never knew that, but then again, he never knew a lot about any of his family. In fact, he was surprised that he had never thought of knowing them better, it was rather embarrassing, considering he was their leader.

"Yeah, I was. So in order to remain human, I decided to live for the sake of helping people, and eventually, children who lost their homes and parents to the war had gathered around me. And just as I was on the brink to becoming human again, a group of bandits attacked the temple where the children and I were staying. In order to protect them, I became a youkai."

An uncomfortable silence passed between Aotabou and Rikuo before Rikuo said, "I'm sorry…for making you remember such painful things."

"Huh? No, it's fine. It happened so long ago. And I'm really happy in the Nura Gumi…Look, I didn't tell you this story to make you feel bad, so cheer up okay?" Aotabou said, feeling guilty that he had upset their leader.

"Aotabou, you idiot." Kurotabou said. How could Aotabou forget that their Young Master was actually a very sensitive and considerate person?

"Kurotabou." Rikuo warned gently, causing the black haired monk to bite his tongue before he could blame Aotabou any further.

"Thank you Aotabou, for telling me." Rikuo said, smiling, reassuring Aotabou that he wasn't upset at all.

"Ah Rikuo-sama knows already, but I originated from children's tales." Kurotabou said, reminding Rikuo of his origin.

"If Young Master knows already, why the heck did you even say it again?" Aotabou asked, with a bit of irritation in his voice.

"To preserve my screen time of course."

"What the hell? You're really too narcissistic…"

"Both of you, stop fighting…" Rikuo almost pleaded as he watched both of them quarrel. Sometimes he wondered if they fought in order to deepen their relationship.

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><p>"Hmm, I'm not really sure, but from our appearance and species, I would suspect that our ancestry can be traced back to both the crows and the Tengu." Karasu Tengu said as he answered Rikuo's question of their origin.<p>

"I see. Then how were you born?" Rikuo asked.

"Born? Ah, we're still birds after all, so naturally, we're born from eggs. Kuromaru, Tosakamaru and Sasami all hatched from eggs. And since Kuromaru hatched first, he's the oldest."

"Ah okay…then, actually…is there any reason why you shrunk? I mean Kuromaru and the rest are human sized and you're this small…" Rikuo said, finally asking the question that had been bothering him the whole time.

"It's old age, Young Master, although there are some things that can accelerate the process…" Karasu Tengu answered, a dark haunted look on his face.

Rikuo decided against asking him about the "some things".

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><p>"Shoei, where did you come from?" Rikuo asked as he found the tall youkai.<p>

"Why the sudden interest?" Shoei asked, wondering why their Third Heir asked such an innocent question out of the blue.

"Ah, it's for a research assignment."

"Oh I see. I'm not really that clear, but dad didn't talk too much about it, but I know that all my ancestors were all animal youkai. So I guess that I was born because my father mated with an ape."

"Huh really? Just any ape? Then how did Hihi-jiisan even know where to find you?"

"I'm not really sure about that…I guess I'll find out when I get older?" Shoei answered, sounding very uncertain.

"I'm sorry for confusing you…" Rikuo said, feeling apologetic. Sometimes he forgets that Shoei wasn't that much older than him.

"Ah, it's fine. I hoped it helped you. Good luck with your assignment."

"It really helped, thanks a lot."

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><p>"Hmm…I'm not that sure…I guess we originate from turtles or fish or something." Kappa answered, while enjoying the cool waters of the pond in the Nura Gumi's yard. "But you know, with all the humans talking about Kappa, we could have easily originated from various human tales as well."<p>

"But I thought it's because Kappa exist, that why humans talk about them."

"Well, with well known youkai like us, you can never be sure, just like that…Chicken and Egg theory. But I'm really annoyed by some of their stories."

"Like?"

"Like how we impregnate human women and make them have ugly babies such that the babies will have to get buried, or we eat livers from people who drown. It's not like we're all like the Kyoto youkai! Eating liver is so gross, cucumbers definitely would taste a lot better than that. Why are humans so mean…"

"Erhm…you could think of it as a way of gathering 'fear', if it makes you feel any better. And it does stop children from falling into the river, so it's all good." Rikuo said, trying to comfort Kappa.

"If you put it that way…then I guess I can accept that. To answer your question though, I always suspected that some types of Kappa are actually a manifestation of babies who get thrown into rivers. Which may be why I look like this."

"A…child?" Rikuo guessed.

"Yeah. Don't you think that just might be it?"

"I guess. Thanks for the information."

"You're welcome." Kappa replied cheerfully.

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><p>"Basically, when we want to have offspring, we turn into our bird form and find a mate, which would result in a baby youkai." Zen replied.<p>

"Ah I see, similar to Shoei-kun then."

"Yeah. The amazing thing is that even if we do have offspring with normal animals, the resulting offspring would still be a pure breed youkai. It's very different from mating with humans."

"True…" Rikuo replied.

Zen turned to Rikuo, who was still writing down some notes.

"By the way, Rikuo, aren't you a bit too young to be asking about the birds and the bees? I may be a youkai, but I've seen enough humans to know that it's still too early for you. Unless you're actually thinking of…"

Rikuo stopped writing the instant he realized what Zen was hinting at.

"It's not like that at all!" Rikuo shouted in protest. "This is just for a research assignment."

"Oh really?" Zen asked. Rikuo didn't like the fact that he still heard suspicion in Zen's voice.

"Really! Why in the world would I think of having kids when I'm still in middle school, sheesh…"

"Hmm…true, you probably don't even have a girl you like…" Just as Zen said that, he noticed the faint blush on Rikuo's face.

"Wait…don't tell me you actually have a girl you like." Zen said in disbelief. As expected from their Third Heir, he really makes good progress.

"It's really none of your business, Zen." Rikuo finally sad before he ran off, escaping the embarrassing line of questioning.

"Ah, keeping secrets from me like that, he's really all grown up now, isn't he?" Zen said, smiling as he watched Rikuo's retreating back.

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><p>"Our origins?" Kejorou asked.<p>

"Yeah, it's for a research assignment."

"Was it given to you by that youkai fanatic friend of yours?"

"Um…if you mean Kiyotsugu-kun, then yes." Rikuo answered.

"Well, if you really want to know…I used to be human, then something happened, and I became a youkai." Kejorou answered.

"Something…happened?" Rikuo asked, confused by the vague answer.

"I'm not very sure myself as well, Rikuo-sama." Kejorou said, seeming to dismiss his question before she glanced at Kubinashi, who had not said anything since Rikuo asked them the question. He looked kind of pale, in Rikuo's opinion.

"Kubinashi, are you okay?" Rikuo asked worriedly.

Kubinashi seemed to snap out of something as Rikuo asked his question. Then he answered, "I used to be human, like Kejorou. The way I became a youkai is similar to Gyuuki-sama, so why don't you just ask him instead?" then he simply walked off. And given Kubinashi's usually respectful nature, instead of thinking that Kubinashi was rude, to Rikuo, it just seemed like he was running away.

_Did I…just ask something that I shouldn't?_

"I'm sorry about Kubinashi, but he…also has things he doesn't want to talk about, but you don't have to feel bad about it, Rikuo-sama. Then…I'll take my leave." Kejorou said before she hurriedly went in the direction where Kubinashi had walked off too.

"I really…don't know a lot about my family at all, don't I?" Rikuo said to himself, sighing in regret.

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><p><em>Well, time for the last one.<em>

Rikuo thought as he searched the mansion, looking for his grandfather. Eventually, Rikuo found him relaxing along the corridor just outside his room.

"Jii-san." Rikuo called out to his grandfather, Nurarihyon.

"Ah, Rikuo, what is it?"

"It's for an assignment…so can you tell me where you came from? Like how you were born or something?"

Nurarihyon looked surprised at the question, but said nothing else. A long silence passed between them and it was getting to the point that Rikuo got worried that he had asked about something he shouldn't again.

"Erhm…is it something you can't talk about?" Rikuo asked cautiously.

"Huh? No, that's not it. Even if you asked me about my origins, I never really thought about it, so it became rather difficult for me to give you an answer." Nurarihyon answered, reassuring his grandson that he didn't do anything wrong.

"Oh I see…how about…does Jii-san have any parents?"

"Now that you mention it…I do have an impression that I probably had a father or something. Maybe I was created from his youki?" Nurarihyon answered, tilting his head as he tried to recall something very far back in the past.

"So, I guess it's something like Yuki-onna…so…does that mean that there are only male Nurarihyon?" Rikuo concluded.

"Hmm…maybe…but honestly, I have not seen any other Nurarihyon besides Rihan and yourself, and both of you are of mixed blood. But you know, since your grandmother and mother had Rihan and you in normal pregnancies, I could have been born normally too, but I'm really not sure about that."

"Really? There may be only male Nurarihyon huh? That's too bad, I really would have liked a daughter." Rikuo commented in a rather disappointed tone of voice.

Nurarihyon simply stared at Rikuo in surprise. Even though his grandson had already reached a legal adult age of a youkai, he was still 13 in human years, isn't it a bit too early to be thinking about children…

Rikuo, noticing Nurarihyon's surprised stare, simply said in response, "I was just kidding Jii-san, you don't have to take me so seriously…haha…don't give me that look as if I'm going to suddenly drag a girl over and say I want to marry her, I'm too young for that."

"That's true." Nurarihyon said, finally looking away after hearing Rikuo's reply. Seriously, what was he so worried about, it's not as if Rikuo resembled Rihan in his dating habits.

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><p>"Wow! As expected of Nura-kun! It's so detailed. Where did you get all your information from?" Kiyotsugu said in awe as he flipped through Rikuo's notes.<p>

It was a few days after Kiyotsugu had given them all the assignments and they were now showing him the fruits of their labour.

"Well, books and the internet, and stuff…" Rikuo answered vaguely.

"And you even covered most of the major types, food, item, nature, animal and human. Well, there are a lot more than that, but this is enough to get us started. You're such a life saver!" Kiyotsugu said. The rest had tried their best, but were only able to give basic examples and descriptions, nowhere near as detailed as this.

"Where do you think he got all that info?" Maki whispered to Torii and Kana.

"Huh? Didn't Rikuo-kun say books and the internet?" Kana answered.

"Didn't we go to his house before? He has no computer in his house!" Maki said.

"He could have gone to the library you know." Torii reasoned.

"Well, that's true."

"Then again, he's really soo hardworking, Nura-kun that is." Shima commented.

_No wonder Oikawa-san seems to like him. _

"Ah! You even have Nurarihyon in here! The Supreme Commander of the youkai huh…" Kiyotsugu said dreamily.

_It's me now though._

Rikuo thought, smiling awkwardly. He had never really thought about how much of a fan boy Kiyotsugu was. But now that he saw the full extent of his admiration, it was kind of scary.

_I hope he never finds out._

"But now that I think about it, you used to say that you were the grandson of Nurarihyon. And that you lived in a house full of youkai. You know, in grade school." Kiyotsugu said, recalling the distant memory.

Rikuo froze, but quickly composed himself.

"Errr…that was just a childhood fantasy, Kiyotsugu-kun. You don't have to care about that…ehehe"

"But really, you already liked youkai at that time, and seeing how I like youkai now, I really feel bad about calling you a liar last time." Kiyotsugu confessed.

"Yeah, we said the same thing too. We're sorry." Kana said, feeling guilty. Torii, Maki and Shima nodded in response.

Rikuo wanted to tell them that he had already forgiven them a long time ago, but he was interrupted by Kiyotsugu.

"But after that incident in the bus, I started believing in youkai and even now, I really want to find the youkai who saved us that day, which is why I started this club. I think everyone feels the same way too right?" Kiyotsugu asked.

Everyone except Rikuo nodded. Torii wanted to find the black haired monk who saved her in order to thank him. Kana wanted to see the mysterious youkai who helped her again and again. Shima just wanted to support Kiyotsugu's decision. Maki just went along with the flow.

Kiyotsugu felt touched. Maybe there was hope for this club after all. "Thank you for your support, everyone!" he shouted happily.

And another session of the meeting of the Kiyo Cross Squad ended peacefully.

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><p><strong>Pika318: <strong>This was really a long chapter. But it would probably be the longest chapter in this series simply because of the huge number of characters that appeared, so I had to account for all of them. It was meant to be a light hearted story, but somehow, some depressing elements managed to sneak in…haha. Please review if you like it!


	2. Attendant

**Pika318: **And I'm back with chapter 2. Thank you all so much for a warm reception to my first chapter. Like I stated in the summary, this chapter would be what I think possibly happened with regards to how Kubinashi became Rihan's attendant, or right hand man, if you prefer that term.

**Disclaimer: **Nurarihyon no Mago belongs to Shiibashi-sensei.

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: <strong>Attendant

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><p>"Are you sure about this?" Aotabou asked, with a rather serious look on his face.<p>

"Hmm, sure about what, Ao?" Rihan asked casually.

Both of them were currently in Rihan's room, and Aotabou had just finished reporting to Rihan about their regular patrols as well as anything that could be of concern, which was why Aotabou asked the question in the first place.

"About the two newcomers." Aotabou elaborated.

"Oh you mean Kejorou and Kubinashi? Of course they will join our family. I have already exchanged Sakazuki with them after all. Why? Are they causing trouble? You need to be patient with them at times like this." Rihan answered.

"Well, they aren't causing trouble, not exactly…at least the girl isn't. She's willing to learn and helps around the house. Even Setsura likes her."

"Then what's the problem?"

"It's the guy, Kubinashi. He's foul tempered, foul mouthed and well…a loner. And worse of all, the rest of the family don't trust him, since they more or less heard that he killed other youkai indiscriminately."

"Really? I can't have my family members not trusting one another. Have you talked to them about it?"

"I did try…but given that guy's personality right now, the rest, well…they aren't all that convinced, you know?"

Rihan was deep in thought when he heard Aotabou's answer. Then he asked,

"Do you trust him, Ao?" Rihan didn't sound particularly serious when he asked that question, but Aotabou could sense the underlying seriousness to his question.

There was a pause. Then Aotabou said,

"You exchanged Sakazuki with him, and I trust your judgment. But he doesn't seem…to be returning that loyalty to you…"

"So, you don't trust him then."

"Yeah…" Aotabou finally admitted in defeat, his shoulders slumping.

"Maybe that's why your persuasions don't work. The other youkai probably sensed that you have your reservations about Kubinashi too." Rihan concluded.

"Sorry."

"You don't have to feel sorry about it. It's a totally natural reaction, especially considering his past history. I'll do something about it." Rihan said, standing up.

"You…will?" Aotabou kind of felt bad that they had to trouble their leader in order to handle a member who couldn't fit in.

"Of course, isn't that what a leader is for?" Rihan answered, smirking.

* * *

><p>It took some time, but eventually, Rihan found Kubinashi on top of one of the many roofs in the Nura Gumi mansion.<p>

_Of all places, a roof? Couldn't he have picked a tree or something? Well, nothing I can do about that._

Rihan nimbly got onto the roof. His actions did catch the attention of the neckless youkai, but the other party only glanced at him before turning back in the direction where he had been staring before.

_Ignoring me, huh? Might as well take the initiative._

Rihan walked up to Kubinashi and plopped himself a short distance away. He didn't get any reaction. Well, not that he was expecting one.

"So, what are you doing up here?" Rihan asked, trying to get Kubinashi to talk.

"…"

No answer. In fact, Rihan thought that the other youkai was stubbornly trying to ignore him.

"What do you think of this place then?" Rihan asked again.

_If it's a battle of wills, I won't lose._

A long silence passed between them. Five minutes passed, maybe ten, before Rihan finally heard an answer.

"…It's noisy."

Rihan resisted the urge to smirk at his victory. He can't risk offending the other youkai now, not when he had the advantage.

"The view is good from up here, no wonder you like this place." Rihan commented. While waiting for an answer, he had taken his time to admire the view of the towns of Edo.

"…"

As expected, he didn't get any answer, but glancing over, he saw that Kubinashi had relaxed significantly, compared to how he was when Rihan first got on the roof. He was on the right track. Maybe he could really get an answer this time.

"I know you joined my family because your friend wanted to, but…are you happy here?

* * *

><p>Kubinashi had been intent on ignoring RIhan, who had unceremoniously barged into his personal space, but found himself thinking about Rihan's latest question, whether he liked it or not.<p>

Yes, it was true that he joined because Kejorou wanted to. And knowing her, if he refused, she would have changed her mind as well. And he knew, even if he refused to admit it, that he couldn't protect her on his own. Given what he had done, other youkai will hunt him down sooner or later, and he could only do so much to protect her while defending himself. So he agreed. Because he didn't want to lose her…not again.

Was he happy here? Surely he was grateful that he could finally get Kejorou off the streets into a more stable environment, a protected environment. She was happier here, he could tell. What did he feel about being here? Nothing, to be honest. And before he knew it, he found himself answering.

"I don't know."

* * *

><p>Rihan couldn't help but show his surprise at the answer he heard. After all, he fully expected to hear a "No."<p>

_Perhaps this might be easier than I thought it would be._

So Rihan decided to get straight to the point. It's not like him to beat around the bush after all.

"I heard that you aren't fitting in. Is my family giving you trouble?"

"…Not exactly."

"Not exactly?" Rihan repeated. Given how Aotabou had described Kubinashi, he had expected the other youkai to be more direct about his answers. But that wasn't the case at all.

Kubinashi seemed to have interpreted his repetition as a request for elaboration, because he continued speaking, "It's not as if they are giving me trouble on purpose, just that…they tend to avoid me. Not that I blame them."

It took Rihan some effort, but he sensed it eventually. Regret. If Kubinashi had been more expressive, Rihan swore that he would have heard dry laughter by now. Kubinashi seemed resigned to his fate that he will never be accepted here, and to Rihan, that was unacceptable. If he did nothing about it now, then there was no point in accepting Kejorou and Kubinashi into his family.

Rihan stood up abruptly, surprising Kubinashi slightly.

"I know what I need to do now." Rihan declared and as he turned to the other youkai, he announced,

"From now on, you're going to be my attendant!"

There was a pause. Then,

"What?" Kubinashi asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

"Eh? Did you not hear me the first time? You're going to be my attendant." Rihan repeated.

"I'm not asking you to repeat, idiot! I mean, what do you mean by 'being your attendant?'" Kubinashi asked again, agitated.

"Exactly what I said. It's not as if you have any important tasks to do right now. You could start with things like serving me tea, carrying my things, keeping my schedule… besides, I just noticed that you actually look a lot like my human self. You could be a good decoy and I could actually benefit by keeping you close by. So, it's settled, okay?" Rihan answered, smiling.

"Hey! I haven't agreed yet!" Kubinashi protested, but Rihan had already walked to the edge of the roof and jumped down. As he landed, he turned to Kubinashi, who was still on the roof.

"So, I'll be counting on you from now on, Kubinashi." Rihan said, smiling broadly.

Kubinashi really wanted to reject him, but to be honest, he couldn't say no, especially not after seeng that expression. It was an expression of total trust, like there were no barriers between them.

_If I am to fit into this family, together with Kino, he could be my only lifeline._

And so he stayed silent, and Rihan, taking it as a sign of acceptance, said, "So are you coming? There's a lot of work for both of us to do."

There was some hesitation at first, but eventually, the neckless youkai jumped off the roof.

And that was how Kubinashi started his frustrating days as Rihan's attendant.

* * *

><p><em>One week later<em>

"So, how's Kubinashi?" Rihan asked Aotabou during one of their routine discussion sessions.

"I see why you made him your attendant now, Rihan-sama." Aotabou answered.

"Really? You were so shocked when I first told everyone though."

"Of course I was surprised, since you announced it so suddenly. But, you know? After you gave him such a big responsibility and even entrusted him with your life, everyone started to think that he could be trusted after all. And during the past week, everyone started seeing him differently because even though that guy complained a lot, he did all his duties properly."

"Hmm, I'm glad it worked. Well then, Ao, please continue guiding him."

"Yeah."

* * *

><p><strong>Pika318: <strong>And that's the end. Thank you for reading! And well, Moko-chan is too lazy nowadays to comment on my fics here, so I'm relying on you readers to tell me how you felt about this. Did I make Kubinashi or Rihan too OOC here? Because the setting in this story has never been talked about in the manga, I find it hard to envision their personalities. If you ask me though, Kubinashi's relationship with Rihan is pretty much like Tsurara's relationship with Rikuo, excluding all the romantic elements.


	3. Matoi

**Pika318: **This idea came about because Moko-chan and I were wondering why we never saw Aotabou and Kubinashi Matoi at all. Of course, screen time is an issue, but we came up with some reasons as to why it is like that.

**Disclaimer: **Nurarihyon no Mago belongs to Shiibashi-sensei.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3: <strong>Matoi

* * *

><p>"The requirements of Matoi? Shouldn't you already know that by now, since you already did that with Rikuo-sama?" Kurotabou asked, in response to Tsurara's queries.<p>

"Well…I do have an idea of what is needed, but I really want to have a more solid idea so that I can improve by working on those areas. I can't have Rikuo-sama doing all the work after all." Tsurara explained, voicing her motives.

"Is that so…but even if you ask me that, it's really hard to quantify these requirements, like loyalty…or trust." Kurotabou said, trying his best to answer.

Tsurara thought for a while, tapping her finger against her cheek, and her eyes lit up as she thought of an idea.

"Ah, then why don't you tell me about how you first did Matoi with the Second Heir?"

"Huh? Why do I have to tell you something like that?" Kurotabou asked in surprise.

"Well, I was thinking that if I listened to your story, I might get a better idea of the requirements, or how to do it better based off your experience." Tsurara said. After all, what could be better learning material than learning experience from someone who did it before?

Kurotabou felt very troubled. How in the world was he supposed to explain to Tsurara that when he first did Matoi with Rihan, he had not joined the Hyakki and that he was practically forced into it by Rihan's sweet talk and forceful actions? It was really pathetic, now that he thought about it.

He turned away from Tsurara's expectant gaze and immediately found a perfect distraction.

* * *

><p>Aotabou was simply minding his own business when he heard someone call him.<p>

"Hey, Ao, come over here for a minute."

Turning towards the voice, he saw Kurotabou and Tsurara standing on the nearby pathway and walked over to them.

"Yeah, what is it?" he asked, wondering why he was called over so suddenly.

"Tsurara here wants to know the requirements of Matoi, and I was thinking that since you have been in Nura Gumi longer than me, you should have more experience, right? Maybe you can explain it to her a lot better than I can." Kurotabou explained.

Aotabou froze.

"Aotabou, what's wrong?" Tsurara asked in concern. Normally, she wouldn't worry too much about Aotabou, but this sort of reaction wasn't normal, at least coming from him.

A dark depressing aura seemed to overcome Aotabou before he finally said in a very depressed tone of voice. "I have no idea."

"You don't?" Kurotabou asked, surprise evident in his voice.

"Yeah…you see…I had never done Matoi with the Second Heir before."

"Really?" Tsurara exclaimed in surprise. Kurotabou didn't say anything, but he had an equally surprised look on his face.

"Don't tell me the Second Heir actually doesn't trust me that much at all…he didn't even ask…" continued Aotabou in the same depressed tone of voice.

"I'm sure that's not the case, Aotabou." Tsurara answered quickly, trying to comfort the larger man, feeling guilty that she had somehow unlocked one of Aotabou's dark secrets. She cast a desperate look to Kurotabou, as if she was begging him to say something to improve the situation.

Kurotabou went along with Tsurara's request since it was his fault that Aotabou was this depressed.

"I don't think it's because RIhan-sama doesn't trust you, Ao. I think it's because of the type of fear you possess."

"The type of fear?" Tsurara asked. Aotabou seemed to be listening as well.

"You see, your fear is more inclined to the increasing of physical strength, since you're the bashing type of youkai. Rihan-sama, on the other hand, seemed to like the use of weapons, the increase in agility, and elemental attacks. So he probably thinks that your fear is not compatible with his preferences, which is why he didn't ask you."

"I see." Aotabou said, accepting Kurotabou's explanation. Kurotabou still noticed that Aotabou looked rather depressed, so he added.

"Besides, weren't you better off protecting Rihan-sama by punching everyone who tried to attack him? Matoi tires Rihan-sama out a lot so I think that what you do is a lot more useful, since it actually removes the need for Rihan-sama to use Matoi in the first place."

Aotabou cheered up significantly when he heard that. "Yeah…thanks."

"Isn't it great to know that your brute strength actually helped?" Kurotabou said, sarcasm in his voice.

"Hey! Can't you resist insulting me for once? I was really affected by that, you know?" Aotabou shouted back, protesting.

"If you're reacting like that now, that means you're fine."

"Why you…"

Tsurara looked nervous as she tried to stop the two of them from fighting. Just then, she heard another voice.

"Can't the both of you stop fighting for once?"

* * *

><p>Kubinashi had been walking around the yard, watering the flowers, when he heard loud voices around the corner. Walking towards the source of the shouts, he saw Aotabou shouting at Kurotabou, with a nervous looking Tsurara standing at the side.<p>

_Seriously, what are all of them doing, wasting time arguing?_

So he decided to step in.

"Can't the both of you stop fighting for once?"

All three of them turned towards the voice.

"Ah, Kubinashi." Tsurara greeted.

"Yo." Aotabou said while Kurotabou simply nodded at Kubinashi in greeting.

"So, what is it?" Kubinashi asked, determined to make sure that the situation was solved.

"I was asking Kurotabou about Matoi, I was asking Aotabou about it too, and well…it turned out that Aotabou didn't Matoi with the Second Heir before and the situation kind of went out of hand from there…" Tsurara said, explaining the situation.

"Oh, is that it?" Kubinashi answered. Now that he thought about it, he didn't see Rihan Matoi with Aotabou at all.

"Since you're here though, do you think you can tell me about your experience with Matoi?" Tsurara asked, getting rather desperate now. Kurotabou won't give her a clear answer, and Aotabou had no experience to speak of at all. Kejorou had mentioned to her once that Kubinashi was rather close to the Second Heir, so he should have the most experience, right?

"My experience with Matoi? I don't have any." Kubinashi answered.

"What?" Now the other three youkai were really surprised. Kubinashi was supposed to be Rihan's attendant, and was with Rihan most of the time, so it was strange that they did not Matoi at all.

"Is it that strange?" Kubinashi asked, slightly bothered by their surprised reactions and shocked looks.

All of them nodded in unison. Kubinashi smiled awkwardly at their coordinated actions.

"Well, he did ask me a few times before, but I refused."

* * *

><p><em>Start of flashback<em>

"Matoi with me, Kubinashi!" Rihan shouted as both of them found themselves surrounded by a large group of enemies.

"No thanks."

"What? Why not?" Rihan asked, turning to Kubinashi despite the dangerous situation they were in. One of the enemies took that as a cue to rush at Rihan's unprotected back, and ended up hitting empty air as Rihan activated his fear. Kubinashi promptly made short work of that enemy as Rihan appeared behind Kubinashi to slash at the enemies who were rushing at Kubinashi.

"We're doing just fine as we are, why the heck should I Matoi with you for no reason?" Kubinashi asked as he pushed back a few more enemies.

"No reason? I thought it would be a good chance for both of us to know each other better." Rihan said.

"Not interested."

"You're so mean, Kubinashi. I mean we're practically married." Rihan said as he pouted a bit.

"Huh? What the hell are you saying?"

"I spent more time with you then with Yamabuki, and I married her…"

There was a break in their conversation as both of them rushed at their respective sides before they regrouped some moments later.

"So that's means that we're close. You're really sure about not going to Matoi with me?"

"Why are you still harping on about that? Besides, do you even understand everything about my fear?" Kubinashi asked.

"Erhm…no, actually I don't." Rihan answered honestly.

"Then forget about it."

After a while, the number of enemies had decreased significantly, and the rest have started to retreat, thanks to their "teamwork".

"Let's go, before more of them come." Kubinashi said. Rihan moved to follow Kubinashi away from the place where they were fighting. As both of them were walking, Rihan suddenly said,

"Don't tell me that you don't want to Matoi with me because you're angry that I haven't spent enough effort in understanding you."

"Would you shut up about that already?" Kubinashi shouted.

_End of flashback_

* * *

><p>"Um, Kubinashi, are you okay?" Tsurara asked in concern. The neckless youkai looked really tired all of a sudden thinking about something.<p>

"No, it's nothing. I better go and finish my work now." Kubinashi answered before he left the group to continue with his chores.

"Did I ask something that I shouldn't have again?" Tsurara asked, turning to Aotabou and Kurotabou in concern.

"Ah, you don't have to worry about him, he has his own troubling experiences." Aotabou answering, dismissing Tsurara's question.

"Really?" Tsurara asked to make sure, turning to Kurotabou this time.

"It's fine, Tsurara, really." Kurotabou answered, trying to reassure the Yuki-onna.

"If you say so…but in the end…I still couldn't get any good answers at all…" Tsurara said, looking rather depressed at her repeated failures for answers.

"In the end, all that matters is how you feel, Tsurara. To put it simply, the stronger your bond with Rikuo-sama, the easier it will be for him." Kurotabou said, trying to explain it in terms that Tsurara would understand.

"A stronger bond huh?" Tsurara mused.

_A stronger bond and trust…wait, now that I think about it, Matoi does sound a lot like…that. The Second Heir with Kurotabou…and he asked Kubinashi too, does he like good looking youkai? Forget about that, what am I thinking? Erhm…erhm, to be closer to Rikuo-sama…wait, Rikuo-sama also asked Zen and Itaku too, so does that mean he's the same…_

"Ahh! I don't get it anymore!" Tsurara shouted before running off, blushing furiously.

"I think you really confused her with that, Kurotabou." Aotabou commented.

"Erhm, I guess Matoi really is a difficult topic to understand…"

* * *

><p><strong>Pika318: <strong>I'm sorry if I offended anyone by comparing Matoi to *cough*, but even Shiibashi-sensei gave off that vibe, so I just took advantage of that. I enjoyed writing that 'cute' scene between Rihan and Kubinashi, because I'm biased like that. And Tsurara is as corrupted as ever, even though she doesn't admit it. So…if you enjoyed this, please let me know by dropping a review.

On another note, I have officially run out of ideas. So the next update will be in a really long time, at least until I get inspiration. Does anyone have ideas I can use? I have to warn you though, I'm very picky when it comes to ideas. Well, until next time!


	4. Technology

**Pika318: **The chapter this time is my take on how the Nura Gumi started to use mobile phones for communication. It's a short chapter this time, but I hope you'll enjoy it just the same!

**Disclaimer: **Nurarihyon no Mago belongs to Shiibashi-sensei.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4: <strong>Technology

* * *

><p>Wakana had thought she was slow in picking up the newest technological trends.<p>

Until now.

"You don't know what a mobile phone is?" Wakana asked, genuinely surprised.

"Well, it's not that I've never seen one before. I have seen people using them when I went out, it's just that I didn't know they were called…mobile phones?" Rihan answered, pausing as he tried to remember the new term he just heard.

Wakana had received a message earlier from a concerned teacher from her high school asking about her current situation after graduation. She had just finished writing her reply explaining that she was already married to a good family when Rihan walked in and saw her using the device, thus bringing them to this conversation.

"Ah, I see. I could tell you more about them if you like." Seeing that Rihan had introduced her to the world of youkai, she figured that she should do the same in return and tell him more about human technology.

"Sure. They look like really interesting things." Rihan agreed before he sat down opposite Wakana.

"They're not only interesting, they're really convenient too. Here, let me show you." As Wakana said that, she dialed the number for the only phone in the Nura Gumi mansion and turned on the speakerphone.

After a few rings, the phone was picked up and both of them heard Tsurara's voice.

"Hello?" Tsurara sounded confused, which was understandable, since they hardly get any calls.

"Hello, Tsurara, it's Wakana." Wakana answered cheerfully.

"Huh? Wakana-sama? You went out? But…I didn't see you leave the house at all?" Tsurara answered. Both Wakana and Rihan could tell that she was getting more and more confused by the second.

"That's because I'm still at home."

"That's impossible! How can you call the house when I'm holding the only phone in the house?"

"Ah, I have methods, Tsurara-chan~" Wakana replied mischievously before she added, "Then I'll see you at dinner."

"Ah wait-" Rihan heard Tsurara start to say before Wakana ended the call. Then as both of them looked at each other, they burst into fits of laughter and giggles.

"That was just so mean, confusing Tsurara like that." Rihan said, as he wiped the tears out of his eyes as both of them finally stopped.

"I do have a good teacher." Wakana said as she winked at Rihan. "It's really convenient, right? As long as you have each other's number, you can call someone from anywhere."

"Anywhere? Really?"

"Well, anywhere with a phone signal."

"Phone…signal?" Now Rihan was confused again.

"Erhm, it's hard to explain…let me try to draw it out for you." Wakana said as she opened a nearby drawer to pull out paper and a pen. Rihan watched as Wakana drew a tower like structure in the middle, followed by two pictures of what looked like mobile phones on the left and right side of the tower. Then she started explaining.

"So when you call someone with a mobile phone, it sends out a signal which is picked up by the tower here." She pointed to the tower as she said so and drew an arrow from the mobile phone on the left to the tower. "Then the tower will take the signal and pass it to the phone that you wanted to call." She continued, as she drew another arrow from the tower to the mobile phone on the right. So as long as there's a structure that can provide a bridging point, and the person you want to call has a mobile phone, you can contact them no matter where they are."

"Does it only work if both of us have mobile phones?" Rihan asked, staring at the picture.

"It works even if you call from a normal phone. Just like how I called the house phone just now, the process also works in reverse." Wakana explained patiently.

"Oh I see…then can I take a look at your phone?" Rihan asked.

"Sure. Be careful with it though." Wakana said as she passed the phone to Rihan.

Rihan took the phone and carefully examined it, turning it over in his hands.

"Well…I can see where you dial the numbers, since the layout looks exactly like the house phone, but how do you actually call someone? Do you just pick this up and dial the number…"

Wakana giggled. She wasn't laughing at his simple question, but more like how uncharacteristically cute he looked and acted when he was all curious like this. Rihan thought it was the former though.

"Hey…I was being serious there." He whined, turning even cuter in Wakana's perspective, causing her to giggle even more.

"Ah, I'm sorry…it just that I never thought I'll be teaching you something for once." Wakana explained, as her giggles subsided.

"That's…not true." Rihan said, with a serious look on his face all of a sudden.

As Wakana looked at Rihan, sensing the change in him, he continued,

"The one who taught me how to live my life fully…was you."

Both of them stared at each other for a moment, with Wakana blushing at Rihan's sudden confession. Then Rihan was suddenly back to his curious self again.

"So, since you have already taught me such a big lesson, I'm sure you can teach me something like this right, sensei?" He asked cheerfully.

"Yeah…of course. We do have a lot of time before dinner." Wakana replied, smiling.

_Really, he so unpredictable…_

* * *

><p>For the next hour, Wakana explained to him in more details about calling other people, the secondary text messaging service as well as how to use and save phone numbers.<p>

"So, this is just a customized phone book." Wakana said as she finally finished all her explanations.

"Oh, that's interesting. So instead of remembering everyone's phone number, I can just store them in here." Rihan said as he scrolled through Wakana's list. He did notice how short it was, but he knew better than to ask.

"That's right."

"Okay, I've decided, I'm giving everyone a mobile phone." Rihan concluded.

Rihan making sudden declarations wasn't unusual for Wakana, but she was still alarmed anyway, especially with the amount of costs involved.

"Everyone, you said?" She asked, a worried tone in her voice.

"Ah, that probably came out wrong, I don't mean every single one, just the more important ones like Aotabou and Kubinashi and some others. Can you imagine the time we can save if we can just call each other instead of relying on messengers all the time? It would really make a difference in emergency situations." Rihan clarified.

"I see what you're getting at. But…they're really expensive, you know. So even getting a few can really be a strain on our finances, especially with the contracts and other administrative things. Are you sure we really can afford them?" Wakana warned. They started talking about this topic because Rihan saw her using her phone, but she didn't expect it to turn into such a big decision.

"I'm happy you're concerned, Wakana, but you don't have to worry about that. You see, one of the land gods under our clan, Shirohebi, actually has descendents who are a rich family of traders. We can ask them to settle the financial issues regarding the purchase of these phones. And well, the family is also part youkai, part human as well, so I'm sure they have been following human technology trends in their business, so they would know how to get phones for us."

"I..see." Wakana replied. So Rihan had it all planned out already. She gave an inward sigh of relief.

"So after I convince their family to help us, you should get ready for another educational lecture, Wakana. I'm sure you'll do a good job." Rihan said, smiling to her.

"Sure!" Wakana agreed cheerfully. In her mind, she was already planning some of the educational materials she could use.

And that was how the Nura Gumi started using mobile phones.

* * *

><p><strong>Pika318: <strong>I know this is a risky topic because I don't even know if mobile phones were really that common when Wakana married Rihan. And if I fail at explaining how mobile phones work, please forgive me because knowing something and explaining in layman terms what you know are two different things. If you'll like to correct me though, feel free to do so in a review since I like learning new things. Until next time!


	5. Essay

**Pika318: **This chapter is focuses on Rikuo's school life. You know those times when you get an essay topic in which you have no idea what to write? This chapter will be about that.

**Disclaimer: **Nurarihyon no Mago belongs to Shiibashi-sensei.

**Chapter 5: **Essay

* * *

><p>"So students, your homework for this week would be to write an essay about your happiest childhood memory. My original intention was to have you write about your most memorable childhood memory, but I thought it would be too easy for all of you since the scope is so broad." The teacher explained as he wrote "Your Happiest Childhood Memory" on the blackboard.<p>

As some of the more vocal students voiced their dissent at having deliberately been given a more difficult essay topic, somewhere in the classroom, a certain brown haired bespectacled boy was already panicking.

_What the heck am I supposed to write? My whole childhood involved youkai occurrences in some way or another, and it's not like I can write about those!_

Just then, the bell rang, signaling the end of the lesson. After thanking the teacher, the class broke up into small groups for their lunch break, and as usual, Rikuo found himself sitting together with the Kiyo Cross Squad, excluding Tsurara and Aotabou.

"This sucks, why did the teacher have to give us such an embarrassing topic to write about?" Maki complained as she opened her lunch box.

"You haven't thought of anything yet?" Kana, who was sitting to the left of Maki, asked.

"Well, it's not as if I don't have one, as long as you're from a normal family, there's bound to be happy memories you can write about. It's just that writing about your childhood to your teacher is really weird, you know."

Rikuo froze momentarily when he heard what Maki said about a normal family.

_As long as you're from a normal family…my family is far from normal._

"Rikuo-kun, is something wrong?" Kana asked worriedly. Ever since they were young, Kana could always tell when Rikuo was troubled.

"Ah, it's nothing. I'm just worried that I won't be able to think of any ideas for this essay." Rikuo answered, smiling awkwardly.

"I…see." Kana said. She wasn't surprised that Rikuo was having trouble. When she was young, she heard from her parents that Rikuo's father had passed away.

_Maybe he thinks that he won't be able to write anything good because he doesn't have a complete family like the rest of us…_

"Don't worry, Nura-kun! I'm sure you'll be able to think of something soon. How about it? Let me, Kiyotsugu, tell you about my happiest childhood memory so as to serve as an inspiration for you!" Kiyotsugu declared confidently.

"There he goes again…" Tori said as she sighed. Maki sighed as well, following Tori's actions.

"Erhm, Kiyotsugu-kun, you don't have to, really." Rikuo declined politely since he knew how Kiyotsugu could go on for hours if he was given a chance.

But since when was Kiyotsugu the type of person who would be stopped from telling a good story?

"You don't have to be reserved, Nura-kun! I'll be happy to offer my help! You see, my happiest childhood memory was when I was in elementary school…" Kiyotsugu said as he started to tell his story. And everyone sighed as they braced themselves for another long session.

"It happened on the day when Nura-kun didn't take the bus with us."

Everyone except Yura froze when they realized which incident Kiyotsugu was referring to. Kiyotsugu continued his story, oblivious to everyone's reactions.

"On that fateful day, a rockslide occurred, trapping the bus under it…"

"I don't see how this is a happy memory, Kiyotsugu-kun." Yura commented.

"Patience, Yura-kun, the good things come to people who wait. So where was I…oh yeah, when all of us finally gotten our bearings, we looked out of the window and saw a group a scary youkai. They were saying something about killing us, and just when we thought we were going to die, he appeared." Kiyotsugu said, his eyes sparkling in excitement.

"He?" Yura asked.

"The Lord of Pandemonium, of course! He bought a whole group of strong youkai with him, got rid of all the youkai attacking us, and even freed the bus! He was so cool!"

"Erhm, Kiyotsugu-kun, I don't think the teacher will consider that a happy…" Rikuo said before he paused as he realized his error in reasoning. "Forget that, I meant the teacher won't even believe your story, since it's about youkai." Rikuo continued, correcting his mistake.

"Of course he would, especially when I describe my feelings of joy at having seen the Lord of Pandemonium! Who knows? I might convert the teacher into believing in youkai!" Kiyotsugu answered enthusiastically.

"I wouldn't call get attacked and saved by youkai a happy memory." Yura insisted.

"Then what is your happiest memory, Yura-kun?" Kiyotsugu asked, in a challenging tone.

"When I summoned my first Shikigami."

Everyone either smiled or laughed awkwardly at the fact that Yura could say something so abnormal with such a straight face.

"You're really going to write that in your essay?" Maki asked.

"Of course, Omyouji are really influential in Kyoto, I'm sure the teacher would understand." Yura answered, determined to pen down her idea.

"Ahaha, then how about you, Shiima-kun?" Tori asked the boy sitting opposite her, changing the topic.

"Huh, me? I guess it would be the time when my dad took me to Brazil to watch a football match. It was what made me really want to join the pro league."

"Woah, your dad actually brought you to such a faraway country? I'm so envious. I really want to go to the United States, but my parents told me to wait until I started earning my own money." Maki said, envy apparent in her voice.

"So what do you want to write about then?" Tori asked.

"When my parents brought me to an amusement park. That's so normal, isn't it? I bet the teacher would be sooo bored reading mine. How about you, Tori?"

"When I went on a trip to the countryside to visit my grandmother. The air was so clean there and I could just spend the whole day playing in the fields and with the other children in that village. It was really relaxing and fun." Tori answered as she looked nostalgic.

"That's sounds really nice…" Kana commented.

"Yeah, well, I guess it just leaves you, Kana. What are you going to write about?" Tori asked, turning to the brunette

"Ah…I haven't thought of anything yet." Kana answered.

"Really? Well, take your time then, since you do have the rest of the week. That gives you four days to work on it." Maki said, assuring Kana that it was fine even if she didn't have an idea.

"Yeah, thanks."

"Well, now that we have gotten that topic out of the way, I should tell you about this rumour I heard on the internet about the vampire going around town…" Kiyotsugu said.

And that was what they talked about until the end of the lunch break.

* * *

><p>After school, Rikuo and Kana walked down the path leading to the way home after bidding farewell to the rest of the Kiyo Cross Squad. Kana appeared to be thinking of something, then she turned to Rikuo and said,<p>

"You know Rikuo-kun, about what we talked about at lunch break, it's not as if I haven't thought of anything."

"Hmm, really?" Rikuo answered, slightly surprised. It wasn't like Kana to lie or hide things after all.

"Really. But I just felt that it would be so embarrassing to tell them about it. But…I think it's fine if I told you…"

Rikuo looked away as he blushed slightly.

_That…almost sounded like a confession._

"Is there any reason…why you think that?" Rikuo asked before he mentally slapped himself for letting that slip out of his mouth. He was really getting affected by his more 'proactive' night personality.

"Reason? Even if you ask, Nura-kun…I'm not really sure myself. I just feel that it'll be okay to tell you. So…may I?" Kana asked as she turned her head slightly in Rikuo's direction. Rikuo glanced sideways at her and from her expression, he could tell that she really wanted to tell her story.

"Well, if you want to…sure." Rikuo answered. It's not as if he can refuse her.

Kana nodded and started her story.

"It was during my 12th birthday. It was pretty close to a project deadline, so I had to stay back really late in school with a friend to finish it and couldn't celebrate my birthday with my family because of that. I was really sad about it even though my family promised that they would celebrate it with a proper party the next day. But after we were done, my friend said that he would bring me to a nice place for supper and we ended up at a rather nice eatery tucked away in an alley. And after a delicious supper, he gave me a pretty mirror as my birthday present, to replace the one I broke a few days ago. It was so surprising that I'll never forget that birthday."

Silence passed between them as Kana finished her story. Rikuo almost turned to Kana in shock but restrained himself. He wasn't supposed to know the truth of what happened after all.

_The whole thing's a lie! It happened during her 13th birthday and it didn't have to do with a project at all! The only thing that's the truth was the mirror!_

He coughed slightly to calm himself down and said in the most neutral tone he could muster.

"Your friend sounds really thoughtful, trying to celebrate your birthday like that."

"Yeah…" Kana agreed. Then rather suddenly, she looked at Rikuo in the eyes, a serious look on her face. And she said,

"But, what I really want to tell you with this story is that…incidents that make you sad at the beginning don't have to end sadly!" Kana had started her sentence with a normal tone of voice, but as she said it, she got a bit louder and a lot more emotional, like it took her a lot of effort to say it.

Rikuo was shocked at her outburst, and it showed on his face. Kana saw that and she looked away quickly.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled.

Rikuo stared at her for a while before something clicked in his head. She was worried about him.

_Incidents that make you sad at the beginning don't have to end sadly huh? She probably misunderstood something at lunch, but…it's not as if she was totally wrong._

He smiled slightly and said in a grateful tone.

"Thank you."

Kana turned towards Rikuo in surprise and Rikuo continued, "For trying to cheer me up, thank you."

"It…it was nothing." Kana replied, blushing.

And both of them continued walking in a comfortable silence till they parted ways.

* * *

><p><em>Four days later<em>

The teacher sat in the staff room, marking the essays submitted by the students in today's lesson. Most of the time, the incidents chosen were meaningful to the students and had good content.

_Well…most of them._

He had almost broken his red pen when he came across Kiyotsugu's essay. Kiyotsugu was a good student in his class and was able to write rather eloquently, so he couldn't fault Kiyotsugu's writing style or language use. The problem was his content.

_Did he just make the whole thing up? I did hear about the rockslide that happened a few years back, since it was all over the news, but to say the whole thing was caused by…youkai, of all things. And what is it about this Lord of Pandemonium…_

The teacher had no choice but to mark him low for content. At the same time he also wrote, 'If you do not have any good ideas, I would rather you write me a boring incident than making up the whole thing.'

Keikain Yura's essay was less of a problem compared to Kiyotsugu in terms of content, but it was still rather hard to believe. He knew that she came from Kyoto, where beliefs in the spiritual world were stronger, and he also knew that the Keikain family is a reputable religious family, but to be able to summon a solid Shikigami was really hard to believe.

_Maybe her family wanted her to believe in Shikigami, so they put on a costume or something? Like how parents dress up as Santa Claus on Christmas…_

So he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and mark her normally for her content. He also wrote in the comments, 'Maybe you might want to write something more normal if the question comes out in the examinations, because the markers may not know your family background.'

And once in a while, he gets essays which make him contemplate about the student's life.

He read through Nura Rikuo's essay slowly. The incident happened when he was 5 years old. According to Nura-kun, it was one of the rare times in which his father brought him out to play for the whole day without them getting interrupted by his father's work. The destination was no where special, just a nearby park. The only thing that made this special was that they had met an older girl at the park and he played with her all day. Being an only child, he had treasured that experience very much.

_Well, if your parents were busy all the time, any quality time with them would make any child happy. But…If I not mistaken, Nura-kun's father isn't around anymore._

The teacher flipped through the student records. And as he suspected, Rikuo had only had listed his mother and grandfather as his guardians.

_Well, I guess that makes that memory all the more precious huh? _

Then the teacher paused, because it felt really strange getting depressed even though the essay was supposed to be about one's happiest childhood memory. After a while, he picked up his red pen, and started to write down his comments.

* * *

><p><em>The next day<em>

Everyone had their essays returned to them during the lesson. At the corner of the classroom, Kiyotsugu was currently in depression about the fact that the teacher didn't believe his experience at all, never mind the low marks.

As Rikuo flipped to the back of his essay, he read through the comments the teacher wrote. It said,

'It was a meaningful read, keep up the good work.'

Rikuo smiled slightly as he closed his book.

_Just as how incidents that begin sadly don't have to end sadly, there can be good memories in incidents that end sadly._

* * *

><p><strong>Pika318: <strong>It was meant to be a humourous chapter at first, trust me. But somehow it morphed into something else near the end. Oh and about the vampire incident Kiyotsugu was talking about, I was referring to Zen's story in the first Nurarihyon no Mago novel, about the blood sucking tree youkai. And yeah, I'll update frequently when I get ideas and take long breaks when I don't have ideas, hence the irregular updates.


	6. Obon

**Pika318: **This chapter is about Obon, where the spirits of ancestors will return to their tablets and the Japanese will generally celebrate this is with the Obon festival. In Tokyo, Obon falls on the 15th July.

**Disclaimer: **Nurarihyon no Mago belongs to Shiibashi-sensei.

**Chapter 6: **Obon

* * *

><p>Youhime surveyed her surroundings. The room she was in had a pair of double doors and only two windows. As sunlight filtered in from the outside, she turned around and faced the grand looking altar.<p>

"So it's already that time. I wonder how Ayakashi-sama is doing now…" Youhime said to herself as she surveyed the room once more. Then she examined her clothing. She was wearing a cherry coloured kimono, following her namesake. And her hair was still black. Apparently she had assumed the form of when she was in her thirties.

"That sounds so distant. Can't you use Darling or Dear Husband or at the very least, call him by name?"

Youhime turned towards the voice and saw her son, Nura Rihan, standing by her side. He looked exactly like her last memory of him. Blushing at his comment, she admitted, "I can't do that! It's so…embarrassing."

"Even after all the years you have been married?" Rihan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes." Youhime insisted and changed the topic. "Now let's go outside and see everyone, we don't have a lot of time." After saying that, she made her way towards the double doors.

"Yeah, sure." Rihan answered as he followed his mother.

Youhime reached towards the door on reflex, as if to push it open, but her hand simply passed right through. Taking her few more steps, she passed through the door, emerging into the sun. Rihan was right behind her.

"This place hasn't changed much at all…" Youhime commented as she looked around the backyard of the Nura Gumi mansion.

"I agree. But then again, the last time I've seen this place was eight years ago. This place has been standing for hundreds of years, eight years is nothing compared to that." Rihan said as he agreed.

Youhime nodded and both of them continued their exploration, leaving behind the ancestor's building in the isolated corner of the mansion. It had the same layout, the same corridors, even the same doors and windows. To be honest, Youhime found this rather eerie. It was like the sands of time had no effect on the mansion itself.

It wasn't long before they heard the lively voices and activities of the youkai who lived there.

"Natto Kazo, how many times have I told you not to snatch food that's meant for dinner?"

Turning towards the voice, both Youhime and Rihan spotted the very small figure of Natto Kazo being chased by an equally small sized youkai. Unlike Natto Kazo though, the other one was flying.

"Why do you have to be so picky? Preparing food isn't your job anyway, Karasu Tengu. I guess old habits die hard." Natto Kazo commented as he ran away rather playfully.

"It may not be my main job, but as the General Advisor for the Nura Gumi, I am supposed to oversee everything. Now come back here!" Karasu Tengu replied as both of them continued their chase, disappearing around the corner.

Youhime turned towards Rihan, puzzled.

"Has Karasu Tengu-san shrunk?" she asked. She did notice him getting smaller over the years when she was alive, but had thought it was impossible for him to shrink anymore than he had.

"Honestly, I can't tell. He was already really small since a long time ago." Rihan answered before adding, "He's still as picky and naggy as ever though."

"Yes, that trait hasn't changed at all." Youhime commented.

* * *

><p>Just then, one of the nearby doors opened, and a well endowed woman wearing a kimono with her sleeves rolled up to her elbows came out carrying a basket of clothes.<p>

"Who is she? I haven't seen her before." Youhime asked as she watched the woman prepare to sun the clothes.

"Ah, that's Kejorou. She joined my Hyakki after I found her wandering on the streets. When she first joined, she was scared of everything and she had to learn everything from Setsura. She seems to be doing just fine now." Rihan said.

"Oh, Setsura-san must have been a really good teacher then. I wonder how she is doing…" Youhime mused.

Rihan paused as he wondered how to break the news to Youhime. It wouldn't be good to lie to her.

"Setsura…had to leave the family because she wasn't feeling well anymore and didn't want to be a burden. We tried to make her stay, but she was stubborn about it…" Rihan said as he looked into the distance.

"I…see." Youhime said as she looked slightly sad. It was to be expected after all. Hundreds of years had passed since she passed away, and even youkai aged after that long.

A moment of silence passed before Rihan spoke.

"She did leave behind a cute daughter though. Her name is Tsurara. She looks just like Setsura." Rihan added, trying to cheer his mother up with some good news.

"Is that so? I'll look forward to seeing her then." Youhime said as she smiled warmly at the news.

Rihan smiled back at Youhime, then his eyes lit up, like he had suddenly thought of something.

"Ah, talking about Kejorou though, I wonder how Kubinashi is doing now."

"Kubinashi?" Youhime asked, hearing another unfamiliar name.

"Kubinashi joined my Hyakki together with Kejorou. I trained him to be my personal attendant so he could get along with everyone. And well…I hate to admit it, but I did die suddenly, so I'm worried if he is coping well." Rihan explained, looking rather guilty.

Youhime didn't say anything, but nodded in understanding.

"Well, if Kejorou is here, then Kubinashi should be around here somewhere." Rihan deduced as he looked around the area.

"Why would you say that?"

"From experience, if he's not with me, then he'll be with Kejorou. They're close after all."

As if on cue, the same door slid open again, revealing the talked about neckless youkai.

"Here, Kino." Kubinashi said as he put a basket next to the first one.

"Ah thanks a lot, Kubinashi. There's so much to do now that Tsurara's getting busier with her own territory." Kejorou said.

"That's Kubinashi?" Youhime asked. But she didn't receive any answer. Looking back at her son, she found him covering his mouth in an attempt to hide his laughter.

"Rihan?" Youhime called out to get his attention, confused at his reaction.

Rihan turned to his mother, wiping the tears out of his eyes. "Oh…it's nothing. I was so worried that he would be badly affected by my death. But in the end, when I wasn't watching, he actually became a housewife. I kept joking with him about it, but I never thought it would actually come true…pfft"

Rihan turned away as another fit of laughter came to him.

"Now that's just mean, Rihan! You can't laugh at a person who's just doing his job!" Youhime scolded. She didn't really mean it though. Inwardly, she was glad to see her son stop looking guilty and his Hyakki coping well, at least so far.

* * *

><p>After Youhime and Rihan left Kejorou and Kubinashi to their work, they walked around the compound, searching for more of their family, which wasn't that difficult to do.<p>

The small youkai were still as playful as ever.

Rihan was relieved that Kurotabou and Aotabou, like Kubinashi, were coping just fine. From the conversations which he had heard, both of them had been promoted to higher positions and given their own territory.

"So dad finally decided to renew the leadership positions." Rihan commented. "I was worried that after I died, he would just stick with the old geezers."

Hearing Nurarihyon being mentioned, Youhime was reminded as to why she was here in the first place.

"Ah! I need to go see Ayakashi-sama!" Youhime said suddenly.

Rihan looked surprised as he heard that. "Don't tell me you actually forgot?" He knew his mother was an airhead to some degree sometimes, but forgetting her purpose for coming back here was really out of the scope of his imagination.

"It's not that I forgot…but a lot of things happened, so it was pushed back a bit…" Youhime said, trying to make an excuse.

"Well, if you say so." Rihan said, not wanting to dispute his mother. Then he walked off towards one of the buildings. "If dad hasn't changed rooms, his room should be in this direction."

Youhime nodded as she followed her son once more.

Walking down the long corridor, it wasn't long before they heard more voices. Turning the corner, Rihan saw his father, Nurarihyon, sitting on the corridor drinking tea. There was another familiar figure with him and Rihan's eyes softened at the sight.

"I see she's still as cheerful as ever. That's great." Rihan said as he watched his wife Wakana talking to Nurarihyon while pouring his tea.

"Is that your wife?" Youhime asked as she watched the scene as well.

"Yeah…" Rihan replied.

Youhime observed her husband. He had lost all his hair and turned into a wizened old man. He was even smaller than she ever remembered. It was...painful.

"Ayakashi-sama has grown so old…" Youhime said with a sad tone in her voice. "Sometimes I think it's my fault that he's like this… If he hadn't come to save me, then his heart wouldn't have been pulled out…and he wouldn't need to age so fast." She looked down towards the floor, her hands clenched in the material of her kimono.

Rihan turned to her, shocked at she would even say such a thing.

"Mum, it's not your fault." Rihan said, surprise still showing on his face.

"That's what I keep telling myself too…but seeing him like this is really…" Youhime said in a trembling voice.

"Mum, look at me." Rihan said in a serious tone, grabbing her shoulders to turn her in his direction. She looked up at him, surprised at his sudden movement.

"Dad never regretted what he had done. If he didn't save you, this family wouldn't be here. For this family, any price would be worth it. He knows that very well. Thinking that dad being like this is your fault is an insult to his resolve and it's like you're denying this family. I'm sure…that isn't your intention, is it?"

"No, it's not!" Youhime protested. She loved Nurarihyon, her family and the Nura Gumi very much.

"Then please don't say that again, okay? It really hurts, hearing that from you. I'm also very sure that dad wouldn't want you feeling guilty about what was his choice in the first place."

Youhime nodded again. "I'm sorry."

Rihan looked relieved at her answer. Then both of them turned towards their respective spouses, watching them, lost in their own thoughts and memories.

* * *

><p>It wasn't long before they were interrupted by a cheerful sounding voice.<p>

"I'm home!"

"Ah, Rikuo's back from school." Wakana said as she got up.

Both Youhime and Rihan turned as they saw a young brown haired boy turn around the corner. A young girl with gold eyes and black hair was behind him.

"Ah, Grandpa, mum, I'm back." Rikuo greeted them as he saw them in the corridor.

"Supreme Commander, Wakana-sama." Tsurara greeted them as well.

"Welcome back, Rikuo, Tsurara-chan. Both of you are back early today." Wakana said. Nurarihyon simply nodded in greeting.

"Ah, the school let us off a bit earlier so we can celebrate Obon."

"Oh, are you planning to go to the festival with Kana-chan and the others?"

"They're going at night, so that's really…inconvenient." Rikuo admitted.

Youhime and Rihan watched the conversation unfolding in front of them, their reactions varied.

"Rikuo is all grown up now, huh? Oh, that's Tsurara by the way." Rihan pointed her out to Youhime.

"You never told me I had a grandson!" Youhime said agitatedly at she turned to Rihan.

"I didn't? Well, we didn't meet that much in the afterlife, so I guess I didn't have the chance?"

"That's no excuse at all!" Youhime huffed.

As both of them were talking, Rikuo and Tsurara had already excused themselves to retire to their room to clean up.

"He really looks like his mother though, Rikuo, is it?"

"Well yeah, he is only one quarter youkai, so I guess he took after his mother. And since he's going to school, I guess…he really chose his human side after all. I kind of expected that."

"You sound...disappointed." Youhime commented.

"Well, he's mostly human, so I'm not surprised that he chose his human side. But there's just this small part of me that hopes that he would choose his youkai side instead…"

Youhime patted Rihan's back in understanding. It was difficult seeing their own child choose a different path after all.

At least that was what they thought at the beginning.

* * *

><p>After changing back into his usual yukata, Rikuo had left his room and Youhime and Rihan had followed him just to see how he was doing. Eventually, they started hearing the other youkai addressing him as 'Young Master', 'Rikuo-sama' and most shockingly 'Sandaime'. And that Rikuo, despite his age, was actually going around giving instructions, looking through files, and basically doing what Rihan was doing when he was the leader of the Nura Gumi.<p>

"He's can't be any older than 14, Rihan." Youhime said.

"I know."

"You didn't even get to see the Hyakki until you were 10."

"I know."

"He's already doing what you're doing, and he's still in school too."

"I know."

"It's your fault for dying so early."

"Hey!"

Youhime sighed as she watched her grandson work. "Well, at least you know that he hasn't abandoned youkai at all."

"Yeah…" Rihan said, a smile coming to his face as he watched Rikuo work. Of course he felt guilty that Rikuo had to be pushed to assuming duties of the leader at such a young age because of his own death. But seeing Rikuo do such a good job was really a comfort. Nura Gumi was in good hands.

* * *

><p>"Rikuo-sama, have some tea." Tsurara said as both Rikuo and her sat outside his room, enjoying the evening air.<p>

"Thanks, Tsurara." Rikuo smiled gratefully as he took the cup from her.

"Ah, the sun is setting, I guess we have to leave soon." Youhime commented, standing nearby under the Sakura tree.

"Yeah…"

"Are you happy with what you saw?" Youhime asked.

"Hmm…how about you?" Rihan returned the question.

"I asked first, you know… But for the answer, I think our family will be fine." Youhime answered.

"I feel the same way." Rihan said, looking content.

As the sun slowly set, both of them slowly turned to leave, when they heard a cry of surprise from where Rikuo and Tsurara were sitting.

Turning around, they saw the snow maiden still there, but Rikuo was replaced by someone totally different. The brown haired boy was gone and had been replaced by someone with silver black hair, red eyes and basically, looked like a youkai.

"Ri…rikuo-sama, don't scare me like that!" Tsurara complained as she blushed furiously.

"Huh? I thought you would have gotten used to this by now Tsurara."

"Who can get used to something like this?" she protested, as she backed up, putting some distance between her and the night form of Rikuo.

"Your antics are cute, as usual. Forget the tea, Tsurara. We should have a drink together." Rikuo said, referring to the wine.

Tsurara blushed harder before she said, "No thanks, you have school tomorrow."

"You're no fun."

"Well, excuse me for looking out for your welfare, Rikuo-sama."

Both Youhime and Rihan stared, stunned at what they just witnessed. Rihan spoke first.

"So…Rikuo had a youkai self after all."

"And he looks just like Ayakashi-sama and you…and he's acting so differently from before." Youhime continued.

"Okay, now I've seen everything. My obedient son can actually flirt."

"Is that all you care about?" Youhime huffed. She looked at her hands, which were already starting to fade.

"It's time, Rihan."

Rihan looked down at himself as well. "Yeah, I know." He paused for a while, thinking. Then he said, "I'm glad I saw Rikuo's youkai self before the time was up." It was like another burden was lifted off his shoulders. His son never abandoned his youkai part. It was just asleep in the day, waiting to come out at night.

Youhime smiled in understanding before both of them faded into the night, causing the leaves of the Sakura tree to sway.

Rikuo and Tsurara turned as the branches of the Sakura tree swayed, even though it wasn't a windy night.

"It looks like spirits have paid us a visit, Rikuo-sama." Tsurara commented.

"Yeah…"

* * *

><p><strong>Pika318: <strong>So I finally wrote a little about night Rikuo. If it sounds awkward, forgive me. I found it hard to imagine Youhime and Rihan's interactions, considering that it was never shown in the manga and the novels don't give much information at all. (considering that I only read the first volume.)


	7. Closure part 1

**Pika318: **This idea came about partly because of the summary of Kubinashi's past in the third novel on wikia and partly because of the fact that Kubinashi's and Kejorou's youkai abilities resembled spiders a lot. I am totally aware anyone who has read the NuraMago third novel might think this is totally wrong and flame me somehow, but I'm willing to take the risk.

**Disclaimer: **NuraMago belongs to Shiibashi-sensei.

**Chapter 7: **Closure (part 1)

* * *

><p>"Ugh, what is this?" Aotabou said as he grimaced at the scene before him.<p>

He was on patrol when he noticed a large group of youkai gathered around the mouth of an alley. Pushing his way past the crowd in order to find what was causing such a gathering, he found himself greeted with a gruesome sight.

A small group of youkai, maybe about five or six of them, were covered head to toe in a layer of sticky web. However, the cause of their death was not suffocation at all. All of them had their stomachs torn open and their guts ripped out. Some of them even had missing limbs.

To Aotabou's relief, none of them actually looked familiar, so they probably did not belong to the Nura Gumi. But the way this group of youkai was brutally slaughtered meant that there was a dangerous youkai in their territory, and they needed to take action.

_This isn't good at all. Better report back._

* * *

><p>"Hmm, this could be the work of a spider youkai." Karasu Tengu concluded after he listened to Aotabou's report.<p>

"That's what I thought to. But from what I know, there hasn't been any spider youkai in our territory. So it must be an outsider." Aotabou said.

"It might be. Hopefully this is only an isolated incident. Either way, keep a lookout." Karasu Tengu ordered.

"Of course, I don't need you to tell me that."

* * *

><p>This time, it was the crows who alerted them to the next incident.<p>

This time, unfortunately, some of their members were involved.

The youkai, part of the Obake family, had been on their way home after a late night drink when they was suddenly attacked as they passed by an abandoned building. Their bodies, or what remained of them, were dumped into the side alley, which was then found by the crows.

Karasu Tengu asked Rihan to call for an emergency meeting that night.

"…So this is what has been happening so far. From the previous two incidents, we can confirm that this youkai is dangerous and will continue to attack innocent people if left unchecked." Karasu Tengu concluded.

"Is it a lone youkai or is it a group of them?" Daruma asked.

"We cannot confirm anything about that at the moment. But to be safe, we should assume that the attacker does not work alone." Karasu Tengu answered, a serious expression on his face.

"Well, I guess this is all that we have to work with so far." Rihan concluded before continuing. "So far, only youkai have been attacked. But if we leave this alone, innocent humans will be attacked sooner or later, and that I will never forgive myself if I let that happen. Therefore, these are my orders."

Everyone focused their attention on their leader.

"Those who are on patrol, keep a look out for anything suspicious, like unusual amounts of web, especially when you pass through deserted areas. Travel in groups and take care of yourselves as well. Karasu Tengu, ask the crows to continue keeping watch from the skies."

Everyone nodded.

"And lastly, Aotabou and Kubinashi, investigate the scene of the incidents to look for any clues that could lead us to the attacker."

"Understood." Both of them said.

"Okay, then everyone is dismissed. Be careful." Rihan said as he ended the meeting.

* * *

><p>"You better prepare yourself. This could be quite gruesome." Aotabou warned as he and Kubinashi approached the scene of the second incident. For the scene of the first incident, a few days had already passed and the area had been cleaned up by the underground youkai societies, so there had been no clues at all.<p>

"I don't need you to tell me that." Kubinashi answered in a curt tone.

Aotabou grumbled at Kubinashi's attitude but knew better than to pick a fight now. They were supposed to work together in order to find the culprit.

After some time, both of them arrived at the building in which the attack had taken place. It was an old building, only four stories high, with many broken windows. Even the door was hanging off its hinges, swinging dangerously in the wind.

As soon as they entered the building, Aotabou knew that this had to be the place. Webs covered the floors, walls and even the ceiling. He even had to sweep some out of the way in order to venture further in.

"Looks like this is the place eh, Kubinashi?" Aotabou commented. He didn't receive any answer, not that he expected one. So he simply took a few more steps, exploring his surroundings. Further into the room, there had been more webs, broken furniture…and blood.

"Hey Kubinashi, come here for a moment." Aotabou called. But he didn't hear any signs of acknowledgement. In fact, he didn't even hear any footsteps, like Kubinashi wasn't even in the room at all.

_Shit! I haven't considered the possibility that the attacker might still be nearby!_

He turned around quickly, worried that something had happened to his companion.

Only to find that Kubinashi was still standing at the doorway, staring into space.

Aotabou approached the neckless youkai. As he did so, he noticed that Kubinashi's breathing was irregular, his eyes were opened wide, like he was freaking out.

Rather than staring into space, it was as if Kubinashi was seeing things that only he could see.

But Aotabou knew that there was nothing behind him at all.

"Oi! Kubinashi!"

* * *

><p>When Kubinashi saw the webs, he was suddenly gripped by something he had not felt since he died.<p>

Fear.

He willed himself to move forward. But he only felt the urge to run. Then scenes started playing in his head.

Darkness.

People screaming, crying for help, begging for their lives.

Cruel taunts and laughter.

And finally…

"Oi! Kubinashi!"

Hearing Aotabou's rough voice, he finally snapped out of his thoughts, the scenes grinding to a halt.

"What the heck are you doing, spacing out like that?" Aotabou shouted. He probably sounded rough, but some part of him was glad that he managed to get Kubinashi's attention. The neckless youkai looked like he was about to hyperventilate.

A moment of silence passed between them.

"It's…nothing." Kubinashi answered. Then he turned around and left the building.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Aotabou called after Kubinashi.

"The body was dumped in the alley outside right? I'll go check the alley. You can stay here to check the building. It's faster that way."

"Hmph, whatever you say then." Aotabou said. Obviously, there was something about this building that freaked Kubinashi out. Not that he knew what it was though…unless it was the webs.

_Come to think of it, Rihan did mention something about Kubinashi being killed by youkai…_

He already had a theory developing in his head, but he decided to leave it for later. Searching for clues come first. Either way, he would need to talk to Rihan about it eventually.

* * *

><p>"So you didn't find any clues at all?" Rihan asked as Aotabou gave him the report of the scene.<p>

"Not exactly. The only thing I can conclude is that, unless one spider youkai can produce a huge amount of web enough to cover two floors, then we are most likely dealing with a group of spider youkai."

"I see…where's Kubinashi by the way? Didn't he come back with you?" Rihan asked, curious about the absence of his attendant.

"We did come back together, but we parted ways once we stepped through the gate. Wouldn't even listen to me when I told him that we needed to make a report… In fact, he seems distracted by something ever since we left that place." Aotabou replied, frustration evident on his face.

"Is that so?" Rihan asked. Then there was a long pause as he crossed his arms, deep in thought. Eventually, Rihan spoke again.

"I think I know where he might be. I'll take care of him, so you can go now, Aotabou. Thanks for your hard work."

Aotabou nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Rihan waited until he could not hear the heavy footsteps of Aotabou's anymore before he stood up and opened the door.

"Now to go deal with that stubborn kid."

* * *

><p>Kubinashi sat on one of the many rooftops in the mansion, staring at the faraway horizon. However, he wasn't in the mood to admire the scenery at all.<p>

_How long has it been since I last thought about that day?_

He didn't want to recall it at all. At the beginning, all those memories served as a fuel for his hatred. After joining the Nura Gumi, he made himself move on, for Kejorou's sake…as well as his own. Now, it was all a nightmare that he simply wanted to leave behind.

Ever since they left the building, those memories kept replaying in his head. The screaming, the terror, the darkness, the laughter…and the pain. It was like watching a horror movie, only that he was one of the characters.

Why did those youkai have to reappear again? He had worked so hard to fit into this family. If he lost himself now, he would really lose everything.

_Why now…_

"So you were up here after all."

* * *

><p>Rihan had went to the same roof he had found Kubinashi before and as expected, the blond youkai was there, staring off into the distance, with what would probably be called a sad look on his face. Rihan wondered what Kubinashi was thinking about to cause him to make that face. So he decided to break the silence and make his presence known, anything to distract Kubinashi from his depressing thoughts.<p>

"So you were up here after all."

No response, as expected. So Rihan tried asking a question this time.

"Something bothering you?" Rihan asked as he sat down a short distance away.

No answer either. Well, he already knew Kubinashi wouldn't talk if he didn't feel like it. Right now, all he had to do is wait.

"Did Aotabou ask you to come?"

_Wow, that's an improvement from before._

"Huh? Of course not. I asked him where you were and he had no idea, so I figured that you should be up here, brooding over something."

Silence.

"So…you haven't answered my question yet. Is something bothering you?"

Silence.

Rihan glanced sideways at Kubinashi. Then he asked,

"Does it, by any chance, have something to do with the spider youkai?"

Rihan observed Kubinashi out of the corner of his eye as he said that and saw the blond youkai stiffen up.

_Bingo._

Rihan decided to be direct and strike while the iron was hot.

"Are they the youkai who killed you?"

In response to that, Kubinashi's eyes widened, then he turned towards Rihan in surprise, and just as he was about to open his mouth to say something…

"Rihan-sama, you idiot! Don't bully Kubinashi!" A female voice was heard before Rihan felt something hard hit his head, which unfortunately, caused him to fall off the roof.

"Ki…Kejorou, what are you doing?" Kubinashi shouted, shocked at what she just did to their leader.

Kejorou didn't reply but simply turned towards Kubinashi, tears welling up in her eyes. Then she jumped off the roof and ran.

"Hey!" Kubinashi shouted, running after her.

"Ow…" Rihan groaned as he finally picked himself up off the ground. Both Kubinashi and Kejorou were already out of sight.

_Now I have to look for the both of them._

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile, in a side street of Edo…<em>

"And she just had to lock me out just because I was out late drinking again, that woman…" The man complained, his speech slurred. He was a middle aged man, with messy hair, and a red face due to having one cup too much to drink.

"Ah, forget it! I'll just spend the night outside. I bet she'll be worried about me by the time the sun comes up." He said as he slumped against the wall of the nearest building. It wasn't his first time spending the night outdoors anyway.

He was just about to fall asleep when he suddenly heard someone coming his way. The person seems to be running quite haphazardly, knocking things down as that person ran. It was irritating.

"Hey, keep it down, will…" the man started to shout, but the sight before them was too horrifying. Just some distance away, he saw a large spider, no, calling it a spider wasn't accurate, a human spider fusion, binding something in a web, just as that 'something' was still struggling, knocking things over. That 'something' was starting to scream but was instantly silenced by a stab to its head.

_That's a human in there…_

A few seconds later, the beast sensed his presence and turned towards him. The man wanted to back away, but found himself frozen to the ground. It was a costly mistake as the beast simply jumped and landed instantly in front of him. It towered over the man, and just like he thought, it was really a fusion between spider and human. The top half of the youkai was a beautiful lady, with piercing golden eyes and long jet black hair.

"You…youkai…" The man managed to sputter out.

"That's right, human, I'm a youkai. Now would you be so kind as to be our food? Humans taste so much better after all." It raised its legs, preparing to attack.

"Arghh…!" The man started to shout too, but it was too late. The youkai swung its legs down, with one of them piercing him through the throat, prematurely ending his life.

"Really, humans are so weak. The one that cut off the leg of our leader must have been a monster of a human, if her story had been true at all." The youkai commented before it proceeded to bind up the human in her webs. Then she looked up into the sky, she had been hearing them for quite a while now, but they seemed to have quietened down.

_There are so many crows in this city. Annoying._

* * *

><p>"Kino! What's wrong with you?" Kubinashi asked as he finally caught up with his long time friend, grabbing her by her arm.<p>

Kejorou stopped and Kubinashi released his grip. Kejorou refused to turn around to face him. For a long while, neither of them said anything. Kubinashi continued to stare at her back, unable to think of anything appropriate to say. So he started to reach out towards her, and then he noticed it.

_She's shaking._

"Kino…" Kubinashi started to say. At first, he wanted to ask her what was wrong, but he knew that question was unnecessary. Given their current situation, there was only one thing that occupied both their minds.

"It'll be fi…" he tried to reassure her, but she interrupted him with a shout, shocking him and causing him to retract his outstretched arm.

"No, it will not be fine! Do you have any idea who we're up against? Of course you do, right? After all, we…" Kejorou starting saying, but caught herself at the last sentence. She could not say it, but Kubinashi understood.

_We got killed by that spider youkai._

Kejorou turned around, and that was when Kubinashi saw. She was crying. Then she started talking again, her words coming out in stammers and her eyes, filled with worry, and fear.

"Kubinashi, you'll have to promise me. I… I know you might want to avenge everyone… everyone who died that day, but I… I don't want to lose you again. Promise me… that you wouldn't go fight them…" Kejorou said as he reached out to him, pulling at his sleeve. He froze at that gesture.

She used to do that often, even when both of them were alive. When she wanted him to play with her, when she was worried about him, when she wanted him to notice her, when she wanted him to listen to her, she would always do that.

He looked down at her shaking hand, and made up his mind.

"Kino, I… don't want to face them." Kubinashi replied. Kejorou looked relieved at first, but froze when she heard the hesitation in his voice.

"I understand how you feel. But… I feel that if I don't face them now, I'll…no, both of us, we'll never be able to escape from this nightmare…if we run away now." Kubinashi stated his point, looking at Kejorou with a determined look on his face.

"But… but I don't want to see you die again…" Kejorou said, her voice small.

"Kino…" Kubinashi said, sadness returning to his expression. Then both of them heard a voice.

"That won't happen."

Both of them turned around, and came face to face with none other than their leader, Nura Rihan.

"You…were listening?" Kubinashi asked, surprised to see their leader standing there.

"I didn't hear everything, but I heard enough to know what you've decided to do, Kubinashi." Rihan answered easily, feeling no remorse for eavesdropping on what was obviously a very private conversation. He turned to Kejorou.

"I know that you're worried, but you seem to be forgetting something. That is…" Rihan paused for a while so that his next few sentences will sink in better.

"You're not alone anymore. Unlike before, you now belong to a family with capable fighters and those that will gladly protect you from any harm. We'll face those youkai together. Isn't that right?" Rihan said, smirking, proud of his own family.

Both Kejorou and Kubinashi stared at Rihan, absorbing the words that they just heard. And finally both of them gave a small smile.

"Yeah, that's right." Kubnashi finally said while Kejorou nodded, her fears lessening by the second.

_How could I have forgotten something so important?_

Rihan momentarily softened his gaze as he watched the both of them before continuing in a playful tone of voice.

"So, since we're all family, can I call you 'Kino' too?"

"No, you may not!" Kubinashi shouted back angrily, while Kejorou just blushed, probably thinking about the scenario at being addressed with such familiarity by their good looking Second Heir.

Now, the three of them heard another voice.

"Rihan-sama, so that was where you were! I have urgent news to report!

"Well, don't we have a lot of interruptions here today? Yes, Karasu Tengu, what is it?" Rihan commented casually before he turned his attention to the small youkai.

_Fancy you should say that when you were one of them._

Kubinashi thought, but he kept them to himself as he focused his attention on Karasu Tengu as well.

"We have bad news. The crows have seen those spider youkai. And this time… they're attacking humans."

* * *

><p><strong>Pika318: <strong>I'm ending here for now. Partly because it's getting longer than the length I'm used to, and partly because I have no idea how to continue the rest yet. The last section was so hard to write T_T

Please look forward to part 2!


	8. Closure part 2

**Pika318: **So I've been researching on Kubinashi in the Nurarihyon no Mago wikia and it turns out that he was actually part of a trio of chivalrous thieves together with two guys, Seisuke and Kichijiro.

After failing to rescue Shiragiku (the oiran) from one of their former targets, they were attacked by youkai released onto them by said former target. Kichijiro died from having his head crushed by an enormous youkai while Seisuke died from being pierced in the chest by a youkai's tail. Given this new info, I can still somehow make this story work while keeping true to the known facts so far (I hope). There's no info on about Kejorou died , or how she got to that place, so I shall decide on my own with that.

**Disclaimer: **Nurarihyon no Mago belongs to Shiibashi-sensei.

**Chapter 8: **Closure (part 2)

* * *

><p>"We have bad news. The crows have seen those spider youkai. And this time… they're attacking humans." Karasu Tengu reported, looking grim.<p>

Kubinashi and Kejorou widened their eyes when they heard the news.

"Damn!" Rihan swore, frustration evident on his face. The thing which he did not want to happen the most had just occurred.

_If only we acted earlier… but that's currently impossible, not with this pathetic amount of information._

Then he realised it.

_If it is information we need, aren't the best sources of information right here?_

He turned to Kubinashi and Kejorou.

"I know it'll be painful, but I need both of you to tell me what happened in the past, when both of you were attacked."

Both of them froze at Rihan's proposal, before Kejorou finally spoke.

"I'm not sure… if that would be of any help, Rihan-sama. Not when… both of us eventually died."

Karasu Tengu turned towards Rihan upon hearing his proposal, confusion on his face.

"What are you talking about? Do both of them have something to do with the spider youkai we're dealing with now?" Karasu Tengu asked.

"Quiet, Karasu Tengu, I'm trying to think here." Rihan ordered rather firmly. Karasu Tengu decided against probing the situation any more. Then he continued,

"Even if both of you died in the end, something useful must be hidden somewhere in your experiences. In short, we won't know until we have heard your story."

"But… we're…" Kubinashi started to say before his voice faded away, unable to admit his weakness.

_We're not ready yet._

Their hesitation was to be expected, but Rihan was desperate. He needed information, information that could prevent further incidents from happening and right in front of him were the biggest clues to the perpetrator. He couldn't give up now.

"I know telling your story will only bring back painful memories. But the youkai are attacking humans now, innocent lives are already being lost and here we are, unable to do anything because of the lack of information. I don't want to see anyone else die and… I think neither of you want to see that either. So… can you help?"

Rihan knew he was taking a big risk. If he said something wrong now and offended them somehow, he could lose the both of them. However, if he played this right, he would be getting a huge asset.

There was a long pause as Kubinashi and Kejorou considered their options. Karasu Tengu did not fully understand what was going on, but the tension in the air was enough to make him nervous. He did not make a sound, but simply observed the trio.

After what seemed like an eternity, Kejorou finally said, "I'll help."

It was soft and her voice was shaking. But it was an agreement, nevertheless.

Rihan let out a breath that he did not know he had been holding. Then he looked at Kubinashi. The blond youkai locked eyes with Rihan for a moment before he finally said, "I'll talk, I… don't want to see anyone else die because of them."

Rihan nodded, then he said gently, "I don't want to give you the trouble of repeating your experience twice. So… is it okay if you talk during the meeting later instead? I'll give both of you an hour to sort out your feelings."

Kejorou looked nervous, then turned to Kubinashi to hear his decision. Kubinashi saw Kejorou watching him and took a deep breath.

_There's no turning back now._

"We'll see you in the main hall in an hour."

"Karasu Tengu, inform everyone that there will be a meeting in an hour."

"Yes, Rihan-sama." Karasu Tengu said before flying off to spread the information.

"Then, I'll leave the both of you alone." Rihan said.

Turning around, Rihan walked away quickly, and when he finally reached his room and closed the door behind him…

"Damn it!" Rihan swore as he punched the nearby wall.

It sucked. He had never wanted to put any of his family members into such a difficult situation. No matter how many times he told himself that it was the only way he could obtain more information to prevent more people from dying and that he had no choice, in the end, he still trampled on other people's feelings to reach his own goals.

It was disgusting.

Yamabuki Otome, who had been in the room, jumped when Rihan suddenly punched the wall and swore. She turned towards him, concerned. A question was at the edge of her lips, but she swallowed it down. After all, it was not a wife's job to pry. Instead, she stood up, walked towards him and pulled him into a hug.

Rihan leaned into her embrace as she stroked his back, as if to tell him that everything would be fine.

"Damn it." He swore again.

_Why am I so useless…_

* * *

><p><em>5 minutes before the meeting<em>

"You don't have to talk if you don't want to. I was the one who experienced everything after all." Kubinashi offered when he saw that Kejorou was still nervous, even as they made their way to the main hall.

"No, I won't do that. I want to help you, even just a little bit." Kejorou insisted, forcefully pushing away her fears.

Kubinashi smiled, before he patted her on the head for her bravery. It was an old habit from the days when they were both human. It was more awkward, given that Kejorou was taller now, but his feelings behind the action were the same.

"Hey! I'm not a little girl anymore!" Kejorou protested verbally at the gesture, but didn't move away.

Kubinashi chuckled at her conflicting antics, and moved his hand away after patting her. Then he asked, a serious tone in his voice, "Are you ready?"

"Honestly, not really. But I feel that telling our story would be the first step in moving on from our painful history, and that's what I'm determined to do."

They were reaching the building where the main hall was. And already, scenes of the past were flashing through his mind.

As if Kejorou knew what he was thinking, Kejorou said, "It'll be fine, we'll face this together, Kubinashi."

She reached out and held his hand, which he just noticed had been shaking slightly.

"Yeah." He answered, and both of them made their way to the main hall.

Upon opening the door, Kubinashi realised that everyone was already there. All of them had serious looks on their face. It seemed like they have already heard about the newest attacks.

"Kubinashi, Kejorou."

Kubinashi looked into the direction of the voice, towards the end of the room a short distance away, Rihan was already sitting there. Rihan tilted his head towards an area near them and as Kubinashi looked down, he noticed the two empty spaces nearest to Rihan. And closest to the door.

_He wanted to give us an escape route if things got too difficult huh?_

Smiling to himself, Kubinashi gestured for Kejorou to sit, before taking his own place next to her. As soon as he sat down, Rihan started to speak.

"Now that everyone's here, I will now start the meeting. I'm sure everyone has heard about the newest attacks on the humans."

"How dare they…"

"Infringing on the Nura Gumi territory like this…"

As the youkai voiced their displeasure at the attacks, Rihan spoke again, raising his volume just a little.

"In reaction to this, I have something to say."

All of youkai quieted down at this. And Rihan continued,

"So far, we have not been able to make any move because of the lack of information. But after some…investigation, we have a potential good lead, and we will hear this information from them now."

By this time, most of the youkai looked confused as they have not seen any unfamiliar youkai in the room. However, Aotabou suspected what was going to happen next.

_Don't tell me…_

Just as Aotabou shot a look at Kubinashi, Rihan said,

"Kubinashi, Kejorou, whenever either of you are ready to talk…"

If anyone had been looking at Rihan now, they would have noticed the slight sadness in his eyes. But currently, all of them were focused on Kubinashi and Kejorou. Sensing the current atmosphere, none of the youkai dared to ask any questions, and waited for either one of them to speak.

Kubinashi observed the scene before him, and opened his mouth to speak, but his voice seemed to have failed him. He knew it was going to be difficult, but he never expected that it would be to this extent.

Kejorou saw that Kubinashi was having trouble and whispered into his ear,

"I can start if you'll like. I was there too."

"No, I can handle this." Kubinashi answered. Determined, he took a deep breath to calm himself down and started to tell their tragic story.

* * *

><p>"Hahahaha! I wanted to use this woman here to find out about your whereabouts, but you actually came to meet your death! I actually thought that I would be in a bit of a pinch when the stupid woman killed herself, but it turns out she was useful after all, hahaha!" The noble laughed as he saw the three men in front of him.<p>

"Why you…" 'Kubinashi' said through gritted teeth and he cradled the body of the woman he once loved.

"Why are you so angry? I would say all of you deserved it, inconveniencing us so for your so called 'justice'."

Passing Shiragaku's corpse to Seisuke, who placed her gently against the nearby wall, 'Kubinashi' pulled out his dagger, determined to put an end to the man in front of him. Seisuke and Kichijiro followed suit. They knew with their current skills, there was no way the bodyguards the noble had with him would be a match for them.

"Oh, don't be so hasty. I did expect all of you to come to some extent. So I prepared a treat for all of you."

Just as he said that, the three men felt the ground shaking and they could all feel an eerie atmosphere.

"Come out."

As soon as the noble said that, a hand burst through the ground.

The rest of the nearby floor broke away, forcing both Kichijiro, Seisuke and 'Kubinashi' to jump back to avoid falling to their deaths. As they stared in shock, an enormous Oni appeared from the floor.

"Youkai?" Seisuke almost whispered, not believing the sight before him.

"Now how much would all of you entertain me?" The Oni asked with a roar as it rose up from the floor, towering over the three men. It swung its arm towards them and the three of them jumped back to avoid being crushed.

Thus began the game of cat and mouse.

For the next few minutes, they couldn't do anything except to avoid the Oni's swings. Each consecutive strike came so quickly that it took all their concentration just to avoid the attack. They couldn't think about attacking at all.

That was when 'Kubinashi' realised it.

The Oni had never been aiming directly at them, just in their general direction, close enough for them to want to jump back, yet far enough such that they were never really in mortal danger.

It was toying with them.

But even if he realised that, what other choice did he have? What other choice did Seisuke and Kichijiro have? If they stayed still, they'll definitely die.

It wasn't long before the three of them, standing close to one another, faced the Oni, breathing heavily. All of them were almost reaching their physical limit.

"Let's see if you can avoid this!" The Oni shouted as he swung at them again. Seisuke and 'Kubinashi' jumped aside. Kichijiro ,however, faltered due to exhaustion. He stumbled a few steps and tried to steady himself but the large fist swiftly flew towards him.

"Kichijiro!" Seisuke shouted in alarm, but it was too late. The fist came into contact with the poor man and sent him towards the wall. The other two heard a bone crushing crunch and pieces of blood covered flesh and bone splattered across the wooden surfaces. What remained, a headless body, slowly slid down the wall to the floor, twitching. Mere seconds later, the body was still.

"Opps… I accidentally killed one." The Oni taunted.

"That was wonderful!" the noble cheered. "No better way to get rid of a bug. Now the rest of you, if you will."

'Kubinshi' felt bile rising up his throat at the sight.

"You bastard!" He shouted. Both he and Seisuke were about the rush at the gleeful noble when both of them heard another voice behind them.

"Seriously, you're always so rough, can't you be more precise, like me?"

Both of them turned around and jumped back as what appears to be a scorpian's tail nearly struck both of them.

"You say that, but you still missed, bwa hahaha." The Oni laughed.

"Oh shut up, I won't miss next time." The scorpion youkai replied and charged towards the both of them.

Both Seisuke and 'Kubinashi' jumped to the side, to different sides of the room. As 'Kubinashi' landed, he saw that he had been totally ignored. The scorpion youkai had gone after Seisuke instead.

"Damn!" 'Kubinsahi' shouted and was about to go help Seisuke when he felt another aura behind him.

It was only by pure miracle did he manage to dodge the attack. As he rolled across the floor, he saw his attacker. It was a human spider fusion. It was currently watching him.

"You're the first human in a while to dodge my initial attack. Interesting. The both of you, that guy is mine, you can have your fun with the rest of them."

"Anything you want then, if you focus on one prey, you're just missing out on the fun." The Oni said before it turned on the noble and his bodyguards.

"Wait… wait. Didn't we have a deal?" The noble sputtered out, shocked at the change of events.

"Well, yes. You promised us prey. Right now, you are prey." The Oni smirked before it rushed towards them.

"Noooooo!"

Amongst the shouts, 'Kubinashi' ran, trying to increase the distance between him and the spider youkai. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Seisuke doing the same. But his friend was slowing down, the prolonged chase was too much.

"Oh you won't get away." The spider youkai taunted.

Then suddenly, web had coiled itself around his ankle. He fell over, rolling across the floor from the momentum. As he stopped, he heard screaming.

It was Seisuke.

Jerking upwards, he looked up just to see the scorpion youkai standing over his friend.

"So how does my poison feel, painful right? But don't worry, I'll end it for you now." And there will a gurgled scream as the scorpion youkai pierced through Seisuke's heart. Then he lay still, never to wake again.

'Kubinashi' froze as he saw Seisuke die. Kichijiro, Seisuke and him, the three of them. They had only wanted to help the common people. That was all.

_Kichijiro… Seisuke… _

"How does it feel, seeing your friends die in front of you? Painful right?"

'Kubinashi' jerked back into attention upon hearing the spider youkai's voice.

"I would end your life here, but it'll be no fun."

Then suddenly, the spider youkai turned away from him, like she had just noticed something.

"Now what are the rest of you doing?"

A short distance away, the nobles and what's left of his bodyguards had already broken a window and were attempting to jump out from it.

"Oh no, you don't." The spider youkai said and shot her web towards the window, sealing it shut. The noble scrambled towards the now sealed window, clawing at the webs, but it was no use. They were shut in once again.

"Now both of you owe me a favour." The spider youkai said sweetly as the Oni and scorpion youkai advanced onto the noble and his bodyguards.

Then there was more screaming.

The spider youkai turned back to 'Kubinashi'.

"Now where were we before we were interrupted? Oh yes." And without warning, she raised one of her many spider legs and stabbed it into 'Kubinashi's' left leg.

"Arghh!" 'Kubinashi' screamed and grabbed his wounded leg.

"I thought a bit of pain would bring you back to reality. Now… be a good sport and scream a bit for me, would you?"

With the pain in his leg, 'Kubinashi' barely processed what the spider youkai said to him. Rather than fear, currently, he felt himself overcome with rage.

Kichijiro and Seisuke had never done anything in their life to justify their gruesome deaths. Glaring upwards at the spider youkai, he said, eyes filled with rage.

"Like hell… I would listen to you."

Tightening the grip on his dagger, he lifted up his arm and slashed upwards at the only place he could reach, the spider youkai's abdomen.

The spider youkai noticed the attack in time and jumped backwards. 'Kubinashi' winced as he felt a flaring pain from his leg.

"Now that was a bit dangerous." The spider youkai said as she examined the shallow wound on her abdomen. It wasn't enough to kill her of course, but now she felt this overwhelming urge to end this stubborn human's life. No human had been able to injure her that way before.

'Kubinashi' stood up shakily, resting his weight on his uninjured right leg. Then before his eyes, the spider youkai disappeared. He couldn't even react when the spider youkai appeared behind him and swung at him, hitting him in the ribs, sending him flying into the nearby pillar.

"Ugh!" 'Kubinashi' groaned as he hit the solid structure. A sharp pain in his side told him that he had broken something. His left leg gave way, causing him to slump onto the ground.

"I would want to play with you a little longer, but seeing how dangerous you can be, I think I'll just kill you now." The spider youkai said casually, as if human lives meant nothing to her.

"But first…" She raised another leg and stabbed it into his right wrist, pinning him onto he ground and causing him to drop his dagger. It clattered onto the ground, useless.

"Now die." She raised her hand, sharpening her human hands into claws, ready to pierce through his heart.

"Thief-san!"

A small figure ran out from behind the pillar, putting itself between the spider youkai's hand and himself.

'Kubinashi's' eyes widened in shock when he saw who it was.

"Kino…"

Then he was covered with her blood as the spider youkai's hand penetrated her small body. As the spider youkai withdrew her hand, the girl dropped across his lap.

"Kino!" 'Kubinashi' shouted, but she had stopped breathing, having been pierced through the chest.

"Oh, now that was unexpected, where did that little girl come from?" The spider youkai said in mild surprise. Then she raised her hand again.

"Ah well, it doesn't matter. She was simply delaying the inevitable. It's not like you can do anything to save yourself… Now die."

What happened next occurred in a manner of seconds, as the spider youkai moved to stab 'Kubinashi' through the heart, his left hand moved on instinct, grabbing the dagger on the other side of his body. Then he swung it upwards.

Then there was an inhuman screech as the spider youkai jumped back, one leg missing. Blood spurted out from the wound, but now, the spider youkai was too filled with rage to care about that. A youkai like her won't die from such a wound. She simply wanted to kill the human who dared to injure her so.

"Why you… human!" she screeched as she instantly wrapped both her hands around 'Kubinashi's' neck. With his strength thoroughly spent from the last attack, he couldn't avoid it at all.

Then everything went black.

* * *

><p>The main hall was filled with silence once Kubinashi finished his story, like they were trying to digest what they had just heard. After a long while, Kubinashi spoke up again.<p>

"I guess… it wasn't much help after all, was it?" He asked, a sad smile on his face.

"No, that's not it. We just need time to digest it all. Thank you for telling us, Kubinashi." Rihan said as he gave his attendant a reassuring smile.

Then one of the youkai spoke up.

"Kejorou was watching the whole thing till you died right? Did you notice anything that Kubinashi might have missed?"

Kejorou flinched as she was suddenly addressed and Kubinashi all but glared at the particular youkai who asked the question in such an insensitive manner. Kejorou placed a hand on his arm, indicating that she was okay and would answer the question.

"I'm not sure if this would help, but what I noticed about that spider youkai was that… she likes to torture her victims. And is very focused about it."

"But that's only for that one spider youkai, right? I thought we were dealing with a group." Another youkai said, and suddenly the room was filled with the sounds of youkai voicing their opinions and theories.

"In the end, it's not very helpful after all."

"And I thought we had a lead too."

"Well, we can assume that all spider youkai act that way?"

"That's too careless, idiot."

Then a voice was heard above the noise.

"You know, if we can't find the whereabouts of the spider youkai group, we can always draw them out."

The one who spoke was Hitotsume.

"Draw them out?" Rihan heard himself asking.

"Yeah, it's simple really. Even you could have thought of it. It won't be strange if that spider youkai still remembers Kubinashi here, considering how she lost her leg due to him."

_Draw them out…remembering Kubinashi…_

In his head, Rihan was beginning to put two and two together, yet he couldn't accept the idea.

"What are you saying, Hitotsume?" Rihan asked.

"Simple, if that spider youkai still bears hatred for Kubinashi, she'll surely come running, with her group even, if she heard that he was still alive."

"You want to use him as bait." Kejorou concluded, her hands shaking with anger.

"That's right."

"You can't do something…!" Kejorou started to shout, but was interrupted by Hitotsume's next question.

"Then what do you suggest we do then? There're attacking humans already, we have no time to do a slow investigation."

Kejorou quietened down, unable to answer the question.

"I think that's the best way, isn't that right, Rihan?" Hitotsume addressed Rihan directly now. The other youkai watched in silence, tense, as they waited to hear their leader's opinion.

_Damn that HItotsume._

Rihan knew that Hitotsume was a youkai who had helped his dad a lot during the old days, but when he's being such a jerk like this, Rihan really wanted to punch him.

But he had to admit, Hitotsume was right.

It was a simple plan, use Kubinashi as bait, lure the youkai out and proceed to get rid of the invaders. It couldn't get any more straightforward. Except that it involved intentionally risking the life of one of his precious family.

But he couldn't think of any other alternatives that wouldn't involve the sacrificing of more innocent lives.

Finally he spoke up.

"I'll… think about it. Everyone's dismissed."

All the youkai stared at their leader who ended the meeting so abruptly. Hitotsume spoke again.

"You know we can't afford to delay this anymore." He reminded. Rihan swore he could hear the sneer in his voice.

"Everyone's dismissed." Rihan repeated, with a more forceful tone this time.

No one dared to protest. Then under his glare, the youkai started to leave the room in small groups, until finally, there was no one else in the room except for Rihan, Aotabou, Kubinashi and Kejorou. Rihan had asked them to stay.

It was Aotabou spoke up first.

"Damn that Hitotsume, proposing such a screwed up plan like that."

Kejorou nodded, angry.

Then Kubinashi turned to Rihan, asking, a serious look on his face, "What do you want to do?"

There was a pause, then Rihan answered, "Honestly, I don't know. There has to be another way, yet I can't think of any other plan that won't risk any more innocent lives."

Kubinashi sighed. It was just like Rihan to try to protect everyone. He didn't want to risk losing anyone, whether it's his family or innocent people.

_Such naivety. But then… I guess that's what I like about you._

"You know, I wouldn't mind at all." As the rest stared at him in shock, he continued, "Being bait, that is."

"Do you understand what you're saying?" Kejorou shouted in horror.

"Yes, I do." Kubinashi said, his face determined. Kejorou quietened down, knowing that nothing would change his mind now. Then Kubinashi said to Rihan.

"I know it's dangerous and you don't want to risk it. But I'm not the weak human I was before, and like you said, we're not alone."

Rihan looked at Kubinashi's determined expression, and his eyes which told Rihan that Kubinashi trusted him.

Then he sighed in defeat.

"Are you really sure about this?"

"Yes."

There was a pause, then Rihan said, "Fine, we'll go through with that plan."

* * *

><p>"Hey did you hear? 'The String Assassin' is back again."<p>

"Huh? You still remember him? He's disappeared for ages."

"Yeah, but recently, there's been sightings of evil doing youkai winding up dead, wrapped up with strings."

"Oh, scary, I better lay low for a while then."

"You know, I've heard he died because he was toyed around and killed by youkai, and now he's killing youkai to take revenge."

"Oh really? From what I heard, he was able to cut off the leg of the youkai who attacked him, even when he was human."

"Hmm, where did you hear that?"

"From the Bakenekoya."

"Oh…"

"I heard it was a spider youkai too. From the Bakenekoya."

"I see…"

The shadow in the alley narrowed her eyes when she heard the gossiping youkai. It was the third time in the last few days which she had heard such a rumour.

_A spider youkai who's missing a leg…_

Fading back into the shadows, she returned to the base to report back to their leader.

* * *

><p>"Leader, I have returned." The spider youkai reported as she entered their base.<p>

It was an abandoned building, where no humans would enter anymore since it was almost entirely covered in web.

"Oh, it's you, Shiki. Why have you returned without any prey?" The leader asked, irritation in her voice.

"My apologies, leader. It's just that I have been hearing a very… disturbing rumour." The spider youkai named Shiki answered.

"Hmm… what's so disturbing about this rumour such that it scared even you?" The leader asked, curious now.

"I have been hearing frequent rumours about this certain 'String Assassin'. They say that he has been killed by youkai and has now turned into a youkai who kills other youkai."

"And what does that have to do with us? One youkai can't possibly harm our group."

"No, the thing is, I have also heard that… when that youkai was human… he was able to injure the youkai who attacked him. And that…" Shiki paused now, unsure of how to break the news.

"And what, Shiki? It's not like you to hesitate so."

"It's just that… that human at the time was able to… cut off the leg of the youkai who attacked him, and they said it was a spider…" Before she could finish her sentence, she felt a chill go down her spine. Looking up warily, she saw her leader's face contorted with rage, her youki being released without restraint.

"So he's still alive after all…" the leader said through gritted teeth. Then to Shiki's surprise, their leader laughed, it started softly and raised in volume and pitch such that it became a screech, leaving Shiki with no choice but to cover her ears.

"Interesting. I've killed him once, and he refuses to die. Then I'll simply do it again, as payback for what he did to me." The leader said dangerously. Then she turned to Shiki.

"Tell the rest to hunt for this 'String Assassin'. When you find him, don't kill him, but bring him to me. I will finish him off myself."

* * *

><p><strong>Pika318: <strong>I was planning a two part series, but this chapter was getting so long, it's now a three part series -.- Kubinashi decided to become bait, and the rumours started by Bakenekoya have reached the ears of the gang of spider youkai. What will happen next? Look forward to part 3!


	9. Closure part 3 end

**Pika318: **I'm back! I was caught up with tests and projects to the point that I don't even have time to write anymore. But now that my project is done, I finally can write again. I had to re-read what I've written just to know how to continue this, because frankly, when the idea came to me, I didn't think of how to finish (as usual). Well, I'll try my best to finish this properly.

**Disclaimer: **NuraMago belongs to Shiibashi-sensei.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9: <strong>Closure (part 3)

* * *

><p>Aotabou watched Kubinashi tie the group of youkai up the trees in an almost morbid fascination. Earlier, Kubinashi, Kejorou and him had come across the group of youkai causing trouble in the area and had decided that they would make good targets for Kubinashi's supposed return to being the String Assassin.<p>

What happened later made Aotabou wonder if Kubinashi had, in fact, been holding back his skills the whole time. The blond haired youkai had caught and entangled the group of youkai so quickly that Aotabou didn't even have time to process what had happened. And now he was tying them up in the trees like he had done it a million times before. Which, Aotabou belatedly realized, was actually true.

_At least he hadn't killed them all._

"Hey, are we done here?" Aotabou eventually asked as he saw that Kubinashi had finally tightened a last knot. He walked up to Kubinashi as he spoke, knocking out a youkai who was not completely unconscious on the way. Kejorou slowly followed behind him.

"Yes." Kubinashi answered as he turned to the two of them, then continued speaking, "I assume that we have to look for more targets? We're not going to catch their attention with just one group."

"That's true…" Aotabou said, agreeing.

"Then let's go. We don't have any time to waste." Kubinashi answered, and walked off without waiting for their response.

"Hey! Wait for us, damn it!" Aotabou shouted in irritation.

As he turned to Kejorou to tell her to go, he noticed the worried look on her face. No, worried didn't really describe her expression. She was staring at Kubinashi's retreating back with something more akin to…fear?

"Are you okay?" Aotabou asked in a gruff voice, unused to showing concern.

"I'm fine, Aotabou." Kejorou answered, but her face showed anything but that.

"You don't look fine though."

"I'll be fine." Kejorou insisted and followed after Kubinashi, effectively ending their conversation.

* * *

><p>As the night went on, and they found more groups to target and look like they had been victims of the String Assassin, Aotabou couldn't help but notice Kejorou's ever growing apprehension. Once, he even saw her trying to reach out and pull Kubinashi back as the blond haired youkai was about to attack the unsuspecting third group of youkai, as if she was trying to stop him, only to pull her hand back just as she was about to touch him.<p>

_There's no doubt, she's obviously afraid of something._

So when Kubinashi finally decided that it was enough for one day after their fourth group and the three of them returned to the Nura Gumi mansion, Aotabou pulled Kejorou to the side as she was about the retire for the night.

"I need to talk to you about something. It's about your behavior today." Aotabou said seriously.

"What about it?" Kejorou asked, her face schooled to a calm expression.

"I've been noticing it for a while, but you have been rather jittery the whole night. Look, if you're worried about Kubinashi's safety, we're around to help him. The city's crows are also watching from the sky, ready to alert the rest of the Nura Gumi if something really happens. It won't help with you're too nervous and are unable to react to sudden situations."

Kejorou listened to Aotabou, and looked uncomfortable for a moment. Then she finally said in a soft voice,

"No, it's not that…"

Seeing Aotabou's surprised look when his conclusion was proven wrong, she added quickly, "Ah, it's not that I'm not worried about Kubinashi's safety. It's just, rather than that, I'm more worried about something else."

Aotabou raised an eyebrow, wondering what could be so worrying to Kejorou that she was more troubled by it compared to the safety to her dearest friend.

"You wanna talk about it?" He asked eventually when it looked like she wasn't going to continue talking.

"No, I think…he's fine for now." Kejorou answered. She didn't sound confident, but she wasn't going to talk either.

"Well…free free to ask to help when you need it then, all of us will be glad to lend a listening ear." Aotabou offered.

"Thank you." Kejorou asked, giving a small smile. "Then I'll excuse myself now."

"Sure." Aotabou answered.

Kejorou bowed, which Aotabou suspected was done entirely out of habit, before walking towards the rooms where the female youkai slept.

As soon as she was out of sight, Aotabou sighed to himself.

"Geez, even though we've known each other for almost half a year, and even heard most of their life story, why is it so difficult to get either of them to open up? I guess only Rihan is good at that sort of thing." Aotabou said to himself as he walked back towards his own sleeping quarters to rest and prepare for the activities the following day.

* * *

><p>"Shiki, it seems like the rumours are indeed true, we have found evidence of the String Assassin's work."<p>

Shiki listened to the report of one of the other spider youkai at their hideout. "And? What else have you found out?" she asked.

"The String Assassin seems to have gotten soft. Unlike what the rumours say, his latest victims were badly injured, but are still alive. I have checked on this personally."

"Well, I guess that only make him easier to kill. The leader would be pleased to know that." She answered with a smirk. Just then, another spider youkai spoke up.

"Shiki, may I ask why… the leader is so focused on searching for this youkai? He really doesn't sound like much, to mobolise everyone in the group to investigate and search for him is…" The spider youkai started voicing her doubts but was instantly silenced by a threatening look from Shiki.

"Since when were you qualified enough to question the leader's orders?" Shiki asked, her tone threatening.

"I'm sorry." The spider youkai apologized hastily. Shiki continued to speak.

"If you really wish to know, the leader has a personal grudge against this youkai. As her subordinates, we have a duty to answer to her every request, do you understand?"

"Yes."

Shiki nodded and turned to the other members of the group, thirty of them in all, and continued briefing them.

"If his recent victims are in this area, he should still be around. From our leader's description and the rumours, he has blond hair and is a neckless youkai. Remember, if any of you find him, he is to be brought to our leader immediately. You can hurt him, but don't kill him. He can only be killed by our leader. All of you are dismissed."

After the other members filtered out to the city to continue their search, Shiki stood up as well, joining the search as well.

* * *

><p>"Rihan-sama, so that is where you were. At least tell someone if you're going to leave the mansion." Karasu Tengu grumbled as he hovered in the air next to his leader. Karasu Tengu recalled the situation just a few hours earlier, one hour after dinner. Some of the youkai had run to him, saying that they couldn't find Rihan-sama, and with Kubinashi working with Aotabou and Kejorou on the spider youkai business, there was no way they would be able to track the leader down through him.<p>

Karasu Tengu had flew around town before he found Rihan on one of the roofs near where Kubinashi and the rest were currently working, oblivious to the fact that their leader was watching them from above.

Karasu Tengu looked down at the group. Apparently, having decided that they've laid down enough clues for the night, Kubinashi was currently making himself very conspicuous by walking down the middle of the currently empty road, while Aotabou and Kejorou watched him from the shadows, protecting him. He assumed Rihan was doing the same.

"Your subordinates can take care of themselves, Rihan-sama. Don't you trust them?" Karasu Tengu asked. It was good for a leader to be caring, but he felt that Rihan can be rather overprotective sometimes.

"Of course I do. It's just that… I feel somewhat responsible for dragging them into this, and…" Rihan paused, as if he was trying to sort out his thoughts.

"And?" Karasu Tengu prompted. Rihan frowned, and said after a while,

"I have a feeling that something might happen tonight."

"Why?"

"No reason, just a hunch." Rihan said and quieted down, lost in his own thoughts.

_If the spider youkai appear tonight, then everything will be over and there won't be anymore victims. But what is this bad feeling…_

Rihan wanted something to happen, yet he didn't either. It was so confusing.

Then just as he was struggling to clear out his thoughts…

There was a loud crash.

* * *

><p>Rihan turned towards the source of the noise, and looked down quickly. At the street, Kubinashi had stopped moving, assessing the situation as the smoke and dust from the debris started to clear. Aotabou and Kejorou remained where they were, but Rihan could see them preparing to move at the first sign of danger.<p>

Then out from the dust, a string of web shot out, flying towards Kubinashi, who jumped out of the way.

Only to get caught by another string of web. The web flew around one of Kubinashi's arms and stopped him from throwing his strings towards his attacker.

_Damn, there's more than one of them!_

Rihan thought as he jumped down from the roof of the building, catching one of the nearby lamp posts and landing safely on the ground. Some distance away, he could see Aotabou and Kejorou running to help Kubinashi.

Before they were stopped by a wall of web. As Aotabou and Kejorou prepared to jump over the hastily made barricade, large amount of debris and web started to fly towards them and they had no choice but to abandon their rescue attempts to save themselves.

Swearing, Rihan started to run to where Kubinashi was, drawing his sword at the same time. That was when a large piece of debris was thrown at him. It hit him in the midsection and he was thrown backwards. Then that image disappeared, the debris hitting the ground across the street. Some distance away, Rihan reappeared, his sword raised at his attacker.

His attacker jumped to the side as Rihan swung his sword downwards and he hit thin air. That spider youkai turned towards him.

"As expected, the String Assassin has companions. Fortunately for me, I thought to bring more forces when I found him. Unfortunately for you though, you won't kill me that easily." She shot a stream of web at him, and he dodged it. He tried to run past her to get to Kubinashi but he found himself blocked by a wall of web.

"I thought you would do that, so I prepared that beforehand. If you're thinking about saving your friend, I suggest you forget it."

"Get out of my way!" Rihan shouted as he rushed towards his opponent, but she jumped into the air, dodging his charge.

_She's not that smart, isn't she?_

Smirking, he jumped, but instead of towards his opponent, he jumped towards the building, kicking the wall to vault himself over the wall of web. Landing softly on the other side and ignoring the curses of the enemy, he continued to run towards where he saw Kubinashi last.

But it was too late.

Rihan first heard Kubinashi's shout of pain, then a voice saying "We got him, let's go." Then he suddenly felt something coil around his leg, and he was thrown towards a nearby building, he hit the wall, slightly winded.

Then silence.

The spider youkai had all gone, taking Kubinashi with them.

"Damn it!"

Some distance away, he could hear Aotabou, Kejorou and Karasu Tengu calling.

"Rihan-sama! Are you alright?" He heard Kejorou's voice.

Looking up, he saw her rather distraught and worried face. He also noticed that she was entirely unscathed, with scratches and cuts marring her perfect skin and clothes.

"I'm fine." Rihan answered as he stood up, trying not to let his anxiety show in order not to create a panic. He turned to Karasu Tengu.

"We're searching for Kubinashi. Are your crows still on the lookout?"

"Yes. I have told them to inform me once they spot any of the spider youkai or Kubinashi." Karasu Tengu answered quickly.

"Mobilise everyone. We're not letting them get away." Rihan ordered, a determined look in his eye. Karasu Tengu could see the deep anger in them and quickly answered with an "Understood", flying back to the Main House as quickly as he could.

Rihan turned towards Aotabou and Kejorou, who were waiting for his orders.

"Both of you, we're searching the area." He said, then his gaze softened momentarily as he spoke to Kejorou, "Don't worry, we'll get Kubinashi back."

Kejorou only nodded quietly, her long hair obscuring her expression, then all three of them melted into the darkness, beginning their search.

* * *

><p>Kubinashi winced in pain as he was thrown unceremoniously on the floor. As the group of spider youkai stepped back, Kubinashi saw who was in the front of the room and his eyes widened. With only seven legs, it was that spider youkai who had killed him and Kino five years ago. He only had his suspicions before, but seeing her, everything had been confirmed.<p>

He was being targeted because she wanted revenge.

"You…" Kubinashi started to say, but he was interrupted by her voice.

"Now what do we have here? I thought I killed you years ago." She said, sadism dripping from her voice. She continued to walk as she was speaking and it wasn't long before she was directly in front of him.

Honestly, it made Kubinashi nervous. He tried to exert some of his strength in his arms to free himself, but it was no good. The web that tied his arms behind his back was too thick and too strong. It was the same for his legs. Unable to free himself, there was no way he would be able to use his strings. Then he heard her continue to speak.

"Strange, isn't it? Even though I distinctly remember crushing your windpipe and cutting off your head with your own dagger to make sure that you're really dead, you're in front of me right now." She tilted her head in confusion. Then she smiled,

"Why don't you be so kind and explain, Thief-san?"

Of course, everything was just an act. The leader of the spider youkai already knew the answer, but she enjoyed tormenting her victims, both physically and mentally, just to see them break down in despair.

Kubinashi kept quiet, refusing to talk to her. As expected, she lost her patience after a while and raised one of her legs, stepping on him. It wasn't enough to stab through him, but the pressure was still immense. He struggled to breathe.

"You know, it's only polite to answer if a lady is talking to you. And here I thought that you interacted with enough ladies to know that, seeing that you hid out in a brothel a lot when you were still human."

Kubinashi glared at her despite the pain, refusing to give in.

"Still stubborn, aren't you? Annoying. Do you want to know what happened after you 'died'?" The leader asked, but she continued without waiting for any answer.

"After your death, we were so nice to clean up all your bodies, you know. Even though I was hurt, I made sure _nothing_ was left in that building." She smirked as Kubinashi jolted when he heard her say that. It was very clear what the youkai did. She continued with the same sadistic tone in her voice, leaning in to Kubinashi's face as she did so.

"Let me tell you, lowly Thief… in the end, it's always the women and children who taste better." Then she laughed hysterically and she saw Kubinashi freeze as the shock set in. Her laughter echoed throughout the whole building, scaring even her fellow group members.

At that moment, Kubinashi saw nothing but red.

* * *

><p>Rihan frowned as Karasu Tengu shook his head as his enquiry, saying that their search so far had yielded no results.<p>

_How could we have missed a large group of spider youkai?_

"Have you searched all the buildings?" He asked.

"Yes, all the abandoned ones, the rest are still continuing to do so even as we speak. We only have this eastern area left, if he's not here as well…"

"Stop that thought, Karasu Tengu. No giving up until we find Kubinashi, okay?"

"Yes, Rihan-sama…" Karasu Tengu said before flying off to continue the search.

Rihan tried not to sigh as he looked for Aotabou and Kejorou to update them on the current situation. Just then, the ground beneath him rumbled. He raised an eyebrow, puzzled.

_An earthquake? No, it's too unnatural, one of the nature youkai would warn the Nura Gumi an earthquake was going to occur. Something else must be occurring underground. But what is it?_

Then a strange thought occurred to him.

"Spiders can live underground, right?"

Just as those words left his mouth, he felt himself being grabbed and pulled. Turning his head, he found that it was Kejorou.

"Kejorou, what…" Rihan asked, but she spoke before he could finish.

"I feel Kubinashi's youki! We have to stop him!" Kejorou shouted in panic as she dragged her leader along by the arm.

"Stop him?" another voice asked. It was Aotabou.

"Yes. If we don't stop him…" Kejorou paused as she tried to control her emotions. Then she continued, a determined look on her face.

"He'll kill everyone, just like before."

* * *

><p>It wasn't long before they reached a building. And by then, Rihan could feel it. Without any doubt, that was Kubinashi's youki. It was filled with rage, and anguish.<p>

_Just like the first time we met._

The rumbling continued as the trio entered the building and soon, they heard screams and yells. It was unnerving.

Following the source of the yells, they found a large hole and jumped down without hesitation to the floor below.

What they saw next was easily a scene that they thought only existed in hell.

Bodies of the spider youkai littered the room, none of them whole. They were all missing various body parts. Those that were miraculously still alive writhed in pain as they waited for death.

And the blood, there wasn't a single clean surface in the room, all of them tainted by the red liquid.

In the centre of this picture from hell, was Kubinashi. Rihan knew that all the blood covering his attendant wasn't his at all. Then very slowly, he moved. Not to turn towards them, but to walk towards his last victim. It was the leader, who was still alive after avoiding his initial blow, missing more limbs than before. She couldn't move anymore.

Seeing what Kubinashi was going to do, Kejorou, who had been frozen until now, shouted with all her might.

"Kubinashi, stop it!"

Then time seemed to freeze as Kubinashi stopped walking. Then slowly, he turned around, like he just comprehended the fact that they were in the room.

The look on his face sent shivers down Rihan's spine, and he saw that Aotabou had momentarily frozen on the spot next to him. Only Kejorou, seemingly unfazed, continued to walk forward. But even she stopped some steps away from him, not daring to move any closer than that. Then she spoke, her tone hesitant.

"Kubinashi, stop this…please."

Kubinashi glanced at her before turning back towards the leader. Then he said in a low tone,

"This is our revenge, Kino. Don't stop me."

Something seemed to snap in Kejorou. She closed the distance between them and grabbed Kubinashi's arm, stopping him from walking away.

"I don't want you to take revenge for us! Haven't we agreed that we would move on?"

"But they…"

"I know very well what they did! But above that, you promised me…that you'll never kill anyone else blindly in anger. That you would never lose control again, didn't you? So please…stop this…" By then, Kejorou was already sobbing uncontrollably, her hand shaking as she stubbornly refused to let his arm go.

Her voice was so small, and weak. But to Kubinashi, the message she wanted to convey was strong.

_I don't want to lose you again._

Slowly, the red haze in his mind cleared. Taking shaky breaths, he started to calm down. And finally,

"Kino, I'm sorry."

Suddenly, he was struck by a sharp pain.

* * *

><p>Rihan's eyes widened as Kubinashi fell to the ground, a sharp object protruding out of his chest. Behind him, the leader of the spider youkai laughed. When all of them were focused on Kubinashi, she had managed to grab one of metal debris and threw it in a last ditch attempt to kill him.<p>

A short while later, her laughter was stopped abruptly as she was pierced through the chest with Nenekirimaru.

Withdrawing his sword, he saw Aotabou and Kejorou trying to administer first aid after removing the metal.

_Looks like I have to use that after all._

Kneeling down next to Kubinashi, Rihan placed his hand above Kubinashi's wound and there was a glow as he used his gift. The wound closed up and the bleeding stopped. Kubinashi's breathing returned to normal, though he still remained unconscious. Aotabou and Kejorou stared at Rihan in shock. Because Rihan rarely used his gift, they had no idea that he could do that. Ignoring their reactions, Rihan stood up and said.

"Come on, we're going home."

* * *

><p>The next day, Rihan found Kubinashi waiting for him outside his room.<p>

"What is it, Kubinashi? Are you alright now?" Rihan asked.

Kubinashi said nothing at first. Rihan waited patiently. And then,

"Thanks, for yesterday."

Rihan smiled.

"No problem, I told you before, right? We're family."

**Closure (End)**

* * *

><p><strong>pika318: <strong>So after working on this chapter for 2 months, I finally finished it. It was a case of serious writers' block plus the fact that I already read Kubinashi's story since the third novel came out, so it was hard to decide how to end it while knowing everything I wrote was wrong. Because of that, the quality may be lower than usual, so forgive me for that. I already have an idea for the next very short chapter, and it should be cute enough to make up for this one. Yeah, hoped all of you enjoyed reading this.


	10. Gift

**pika318: **I had this idea for a while now, but I had to finish Closure haha. It's a very short chapter, but it should be an enjoyable read. 10th chapter, wow. It's the longest fanfic story I've written so far. The -man ones which are beyond 10 chapters were all written by Moko-chan, not me, so those don't count. Okay, on to the story

**Disclaimer: **NuraMago belongs to Shiibashi-sensei.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10: <strong>Gift

* * *

><p>Youhime tried not to let the pain show on her face as she was guided to sit on the floor, with soft cushions supporting her back, her legs stretched out before her. Normally, she wouldn't sit like that at all, but for the past few days, she had no choice but to do so.<p>

"Youhime, are you comfortable?" Youhime turned to see the face of her worried husband, Nurarihyon.

"Yes, Ayakashi-sama." She answered as she smiled, trying to assure him that she was perfectly fine.

Well, perfectly fine except for her ankle that is. She had twisted it quite badly when she took a wrong step while walking in the city with Kokehime. That poor girl had to run all the way back to the Nura Mansion to ask for help and even now, she still felt guilty for not keeping a look out for Youhime that day, even after Youhime, Nurarihyon and even Hitotsume told her that it was fine and it wasn't her fault.

Youhime continued to speak to her husband, "Ayakashi-sama, I'll be fine here, so please go and do your duties. It is not good for a leader to neglect his responsibilities."

"Ah…right." Nurarihyon finally said as he stood up and walked towards the door. Before opening it though, he turned to Youhime, as if he wanted to say something. She only smiled in return and said,

"I'll be fine, Ayakashi-sama. There's Nato Kozo and the rest here keeping me company after all. You don't want to be late for your meeting with the guests."

Nurarihyon nodded and finally left the room.

As the door of the room closed, Youhime sank back into the pillows and the small youkai took it as a cue to approach her.

"Youhime-sama, are you feeling any better from yesterday?" Nato Kozo asked.

"Well, it still hurts a bit, but it's not as bad as it was initially, so it'll get better soon."

"If only you could heal yourself too, Youhime-sama." One of the other youkai commented.

"Wouldn't that be too convenient? I'm sure that whoever gave me this healing gift wanted a balance, and being unable to heal myself is part of establishing that balance." Youhime explained patiently.

"But seeing you hurt isn't a good feeling…"

"I'll get better soon. Thank you for caring about me, everyone." Youhime said sincerely, and all the youkai couldn't help but blush at her radiance. Even after having a child, she still retained her beauty.

As if on cue, they heard a young boy's voice as the door slid open.

"Mum, I'm home!"

"Welcome home, Rihan." Youhime said as she smiled at her six year old son who walked through the door and sat down in front of her, carefully avoiding her ankle.

"We're home, Youhime-sama."

"Thank you for taking care of Rihan, Kokehime."

"It's nothing, Youhime-sama." Kokehime replied as she sat down elegantly next to Youhime. Youhime turned to her son.

"Did you have fun today, Rihan?"

"Yeah!" Rihan replied enthusiastically.

"That's good. What did you do?"

"We played hide and seek today with Ren and the other children." Rihan answered before he glanced down at Youhime's ankle. Then he continued to speak.

"They asked about you today, since you normally take turns with big sister Kokehime to play with us."

Youhime smiled gently. "I'll take you out and play with the other children when I get better, so be patient until then, Rihan."

Rihan nodded, then as if he clapped his hands, as if he just remembered something, "Ah! There was one time when Ren got hurt and his mother cast a charm to make him all better, maybe it would work on your ankle. Mum, can I try?"

Youhime tried very hard not to laugh. After all, she knew very well what the 'charm' was. Deciding to humour her young son, she replied with an "Of course you can try it Rihan."

Rihan's face brightened and he turned towards her ankle. Placing both hands on it carefully, he said,

"It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt. Pain fly away!"

What happened next shocked everyone.

Rihan's hand started to glow and Youhime felt the pain in her ankle lessen. To everyone else, they saw the swelling in her ankle go down quite visibly.

"Ehhh?" All the youkai in the room exclaimed just as Rihan said "All better!" Then he turned to Youhime and asked, "Did it work?" with a hopeful look on his face.

Gingerly, Youhime stood up, holding onto Kokehime for support. As she slowly rested her weight on her twisted ankle, it didn't hurt at all, like it was completely healed. Bewildered, she turned to Rihan, who was still waiting for her answer. She breathed in and out to calm herself down, then she said,

"Yes, Rihan. It worked very well."

She was answered with her son's beaming smile.

* * *

><p><strong>pika318: <strong>So this is the short chapter on how the Nura Gumi found out about Rihan's healing abilities. Hope it's cute enough and you enjoyed reading this.


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